J4<A14i ti 4j4j 


GERONIMO'S  STORY  OF  HIS  LIFE 


'    .- 


Ge  RON  I  MO 


Geronimo's 

■ 

Story  of  His  Life 


Taken  Down  and  Edited  by 

S.    M.  BARRETT 


Superintendent  of  Education^   Lawton,  Oklahoma 


NEW  YORK 
DUFFIELD   &  COMPANY 

1907 


Copyright,  1905,  by 
S.  M.  Barrett 

Copyright,  1906,  by 

DUFFIEI.D   &    COMPANY 


Published  September,  1906 


a  »      •  •••  •  •    ■  *   '  *  " 

•  «,.*  •.*•*»•   •••••■  • 


DEDICATORY 

Because  he  has  given  me  permission  to  tell 
my  story ;  because  he  has  read  that  story  and 
knows  I  try  to  speak  the  truth;  because  I 
believe  that  he  is  fair-minded  and  will  cause 
my  people  to  receive  justice  in  the  future; 
and  because  he  is  chief  of  a  great  people,  I 
dedicate  this  story  of  my  life  to  Theodore 
Roosevelt,  President  of  the  United  States. 

Geronimo. 


in 


281640 


PREFACE 

The  initial  idea  of  the  compilation  of 
this  work  was  to  give  the  reading  public 
an  authentic  record  of  the  private  life  of  the 
Apache  Indians,  and  to  extend  to  Geronimo 
as  a  prisoner  of  war  the  courtesy  due  any- 
captive,  L  e.,  the  right  to  state  the  causes 
which  impelled  him  in  his  opposition  to  our 
civilization  and  laws. 

If  the  Indians'  cause  has  been  properly 
presented,  the  captives'  defense  clearly 
stated,  and  the  general  store  of  informa- 
tion regarding  vanishing  types  increased,  I 
shall  be  satisfied. 

I  desire  to  acknowledge  valuable  sug- 
gestions from  Maj.  Charles  Taylor,  Fort 
Sill,  Oklahoma;  Dr.  J.  M.  Greenwood, 
Kansas  City,  Missouri,  and  President  David 
R.  Boyd,  of  the  University  of  Oklahoma. 


PREFACE 

I  especially  desire  in  this  connection  to 
say  that  without  the  kindly  advice  and  as- 
sistance of  President  Theodore  Roosevelt 
this  book  could  not  have  been  written. 

Respectfully, 

S.  M.  Barrett. 

Lawton,  Oklahoma. 
August  14,  1906. 


VI 


X 
c 

= 
W 

W 

o 
o 

> 


> 

0 


\ 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

Introductory xi 

PART  I 
The  Apaches 

I.   Origin  of  the  Apache  Indians     ...  3 

II.   Subdivisions  of  the  Apache  Tribe     .      .  12 

III.  Early  Life 17 

IV.  Tribal      Amusements,      Manners,     and 

Customs 26 

V.  The  Family 35 

PART  II 

The  Mexicans 

VI.   Kas-Ki-Yeh 43 

VII.   Fighting  under  Difficulties      ...  55 

VIII.    Raids  that  were  Successful       ...  69 

IX.  Varying  Fortunes 79 

X.   Other  Raids 86 

XI.   Heavy  Fighting 98 

XII.   Geronimo's  Mightiest  Battle  .      .      .  105 

vii 


CONTENTS 

PART  III 

The  White  Men  N 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

XIII.  Coming  of  the  White  Men       .     .     .  113 

XIV.  Greatest  of  Wrongs 116 

XV.   Removals 126 

XVI.   In  Prison  and  on  the  Warpath    .     .  131 

XVII.  The  Final  Struggle 139 

XVIII.   Surrender  of  Geronimo       .     .     .     .  148 

XIX.   A  Prisoner  of  War 177 

PART  IV 

The  Old  and  the  New 

XX.   Unwritten  Laws  of  the  Apaches       .  185 

XXI.   At  the  World's  Fair 197 

XXII.    Religion 207 

XXIII.   Hopes  for  the  Future 213 


Vlll 


I 


LIST   OF   ILLUSTRATIONS 

Geronimo      ......  Frontispiece 

How  the  book  was  made  .  .     Facing  page  vi 

Dressed  as  in  days  of  old  ...  8 

Naiche  (Natches),  son  of  Cochise,  heredi- 
tary chief  of  the  Chiricahua  Apaches. 
Naiche  was  Geronimo's  lieutenant  during 
the  protracted  wars  in  Arizona  .  .  14 

Last  of  the  Bedonkohe  Apache  Tribe,  Tuk- 
lonnen,      Nadeste,      Mah-ta-neal,      Porico 

I  (White  Horse) 18 

Work  stock  in  Apache  corral     .  •  .  22 

The   conquered   weapon      ....  SO 

Apache  princess,  daughter  of  Naiche,  chief 

of  the  Chiricahua  Apaches      .  .  .  38 

Geronimo,  Chihuahua,  Nanne,  Loco,  Ozonne  .  46 

Naiche,   his    mother,   his    two  wives    and    his 

children  ......  50 

Asa  Deklugie,  wife  and  children  .  .  66 

Apache    scouts — Naiche,   Goody,   John    Loco, 
Porico,  Chatto,  Asa  Deklugie,  Jason,  James, 
Allen,  Captain  Seyers       ....  70 

Three  Apache  chieftains — Naiche,  son  of 
Cochise ;  Asa,  son  of  Whoa ;  Charlie,  son 
of  Victoria     .  .  .  .  .  . .  80 

be 


x     LIST   OF    ILLUSTRATIONS 

Apache  camp   ....         Facing  page  86 

Apache  mission — Valley  of  Medicine  Creek, 

Fort  Sill  Military  Reservation  .  .  96* 

Asa  Deklugie  (official  interpreter  for  Geron- 
imo,   son    of    Whoa,    chief    of   the    Nedni 
Apaches,  chief  elect  to  succeed  Geronimo 
at  the  latter's  death) 
Geronimo,  Apache  war  chief       .  .  .  100 

Lone  Wolfe,  chief  of  Kiowas 

Geronimo,  Apache  war  chief      .  .  .  108 

Quanah    Parker,   chief  of  Comanche   Indians  1 1 8 

Gotebo,  war  chief,  Kiowa  Indians  .  .  144 

Kaytah    and    Mahteen,    Apache    scouts    who 

were  with  General  Lawton       .  .  152 

Emma  Tuklonnen       .  .  .  .  .  162 

W.   F.   Melton,   at  whose   camp   in   Skeleton 

Canon  Geronimo  surrendered  .  .  172 

Chihuahua  and   family        .  .  .  .  190 

Mrs.  Asa  Deklugie,  niece  of  Geronimo  and 
daughter  of  Chihuahua,  a  famous  Apache 
chieftain        ......  200 

Eva  Geronimo,  Geronimo's  youngest  daugh- 
ter, 16  years  old   .....  200 

Ready  for  church      .  •  •  •  ..         210 


INTRODUCTORY 

I  first  met  Geronimo  in  the  summer  of 
1904,  when  I  acted  for  him  as  interpreter  of 
English  into  Spanish,  and  vice  versa,  in  sell- 
ing a  war  bonnet.  After  that  he  always  had 
a  pleasant  word  for  me  when  we  met,  but 
never  entered  into  a  general  conversation 
with  me  until  he  learned  that  I  had  once 
been  wounded  by  c  Mexican.  As  soon  as 
he  was  told  of  this,  he  came  to  see  me  and 
expressed  freely  his  opinion  of  the  average 
Mexican,  and  his  aversion  to  all  Mexicans  in 
general. 

I  invited  him  to  visit  me  again,  which  he 
did,  and  upon  his  invitation,  I  visited  him  at 
his  tepee  in  the  Fort  Sill  Military  res- 
ervation. 

In  the  summer  of  1905  Dr.  J.  M.  Green- 
wood, superintendent  of  schools  at  Kansas 

xi 


INTRODUCTORY 

City,  Missouri,  visited  me,  and  I  took  him 
to  see  the  chief.  Geronimo  was  quite 
formal  and  reserved  until  Dr.  Greenwood 
said,  "  I  am  a  friend  of  General  Howard, 
whom  I  have  heard  speak  of  you." 
"  Come,"  said  Geronimo,  and  led  the  way 
to  a  shade,  had  seats  brought  for  us,  put 
on  his  war  bonnet,  and  served  watermelon 
a  V Apache  (cut  in  big  chunks),  while  he 
talked  freely  and  cheerfully.  When  we  left 
he  gave  us  a  pressing  invitation  to  visit  him 
again. 

In  a  few  days  the  old  chief  came  to  see 
me  and  asked  about  "  my  father."  I  said 
"  you  mean  the  old  gentleman  from  Kansas 
City — he  has  returned  to  his  home."  "  He 
is  you  father?"  said  Geronimo.  "No,"  I 
said,  "my  father  died  twenty-five  years 
ago,  Dr.  Greenwood  is  only  my  friend." 
After  a  moment's  silence  the  old  Indian 
spoke  again,  this  time  in  a  tone  of  voice  in- 
tended to  carry  conviction,  or  at  least  to 
allow  no  further  discussion.    "  Your  natural 

•  • 
XII 


INTRODUCTORY 

father  is  dead,  this  man  has  been  your  friend 
and  adviser  from  youth.  By  adoption  he  is 
your  father.  Tell  him  he  is  welcome  to 
come  to  my  home  at  any  time."  It  was  of 
no  use  to  explain  any  more,  for  the  old  man 
had  determined  not  to  understand  my  rela- 
tion to  Dr.  Greenwood  except  in  accordance 
with  Indian  customs,  and  I  let  the  matter 
drop. 

In  the  latter  part  of  that  summer  I  asked 
the  old  chief  to  allow  me  to  publish  some  of 
the  things  he  had  told  me,  but  he  objected, 
saying,  however,  that  if  I  would  pay  him, 
and  if  the  officers  in  charge  did  not  object, 
he  would  tell  me  the  whole  story  of  his  life. 
I  immediately  called  at  the  fort  (Fort  Sill) 
and  asked  the  officer  in  charge,  Lieutenant 
Purington,  for  permission  to  write  the  life 
of  Geronimo.  I  was  promptly  informed 
that  the  privilege  would  not  be  granted. 
Lieutenant  Purington  explained  to  me  the 
many  depredations  committed  by  Geronimo 
and  his  warriors,  and  the  enormous  cost  of 

•  •  • 
Xlll 


\ 


INTRODUCTORY 

subduing  the  Apaches,  adding  that  the  old 
Apache  deserved  to  be  hanged  rather  than 
spoiled  by  so  much  attention  from  civilians. 
A  suggestion  from  me  that  our  government 
had  paid  many  soldiers  and  officers  to  go 
to  Arizona  and  kill  Geronimo  and  the 
Apaches,  and  that  they  did  not  seem  to  know 
how  to  do  it,  did  not  prove  very  gratifying 
to  the  pride  of  the  regular  army  officer,  and 
I  decided  to  seek  elsewhereTor  permission. 
Accordingly  I  wrote  to  President  Roosevelt 
that  here  was  an  old  Indian  who  had  been 
held  a  prisoner  of  war  for  twenty  years  and 
had  never  been  given  a  chance  to  tell  his  side 
of  the  story,  and  asked  that  Geronimo  be 
granted  permission  to  tell  for  publication,  in 
his  own  way,  the  story  of  his  life,  and  that 
he  be  guaranteed  that  the  publication  of  his 
story  would  not  affect  unfavorably  the 
Apache  prisoners  of  war.  By  return  mail 
I  received  word  that  the  authority  had  been 
granted.  In  a  few  days  I  received  word 
from   Fort    Sill    that   the   President    had 

xiv 


INTRODUCTORY 

ordered  the  officer  in  charge  to  grant  per- 
mission as  requested.  An  interview  was  re- 
quested that  I  might  receive  the  instructions 
of  the  War  Department.  When  I  went  to 
Fort  Sill  the  officer  in  command  handed  me 
the  following  brief,  which  constituted  my 
instructions : 

Lawton,  Oklahoma,  Aug.   12th,  1905. 

Geronimo, — Apache  Chief — 

S.  M.  Barrett,  Supt.  Schools. 

Letter  to  the  President  stating  that  above-men- 
tioned desires  to  tell  his  life  story  that  it  may  be  pub- 
lished, and  requests  permission  to  tell  it  in  his  own 
way,  and  also  desires  assurance  that  what  he  has  to 
say  will  in  no  way  work  a  hardship  for  the  Apache 
tribe. 


1st  Endorsement. 

War  Dapartment, 
The  Military  Secretary's  Office, 
Washington,  August  25th,  1905. 
Respectfully  referred,  by  direction  of  the  Acting 
Chief  of  Staff,  through  headquarters,  Department  of 

xv 


INTRODUCTORY 

Texas,  to  the  Officer  In  Charge  of  the  Apache  pris- 
oners of  war  at  Fort  Sill,  Oklahoma  Territory,  for 
remark  and  recommendation. 

(Signed)  E.  F.  Ladd, 
Military  Secretary. 


2d  Endorsement. 

Headquarters  Department  of  Texas, 

Military  Secretary's  Office, 
San  Antonio,  August  29th,  1905. 
Respectfully  transmitted  to   1st  Lieut.  George  A. 
Purington,  8th  Cavalry,  In  Charge  of  Apache  pris- 
oners.    (Thro'  Commanding  Officer,  Fort  Sill,  O.  T.) 
By  Command  of  Brigadier  General  Lee. 

(Signed)  C.  D.  Roberts, 
Captain,  7th  Infantry, 
Acting  Military  Secretary. 


3d  Endorsement. 

Fort  Sill,  O.  T.,  Aug.  31st,  1905. 
Respectfully  referred  to  1st  Lieut.  G.  A.  Puring- 
tion,  8th  Cavalry,  Officer  in  Charge  of  Apache  pris- 
oners of  war,  for  remark  and  recommendation. 
By  Order  of  Captain  Dade. 

(Signed)   James  Lonostreet, 
1st.  Lieut.  &  Sqdn.  Adjt.,  13th  Cavalry.  Adjutant. 

xvi 


INTRODUCTORY 

Jf.th  Endorsement, 

Fort  Sill,  O.  T.,  Sept.  2d,  1905. 
Respectfully  returned  to  the  Adjutant,  Fort  Sill, 
O.  T.  I  can  see  no  objection  to  Geronimo  telling  the 
story  of  his  past  life,  providing  he  tells  the  truth.  I 
would  recommend  that  Mr.  S.  M.  Barrett  be  held 
responsible  for  what  is  written  and  published. 

(Signed)  Geo.  A.  Purington, 

1st.  Lieut.  8th  Cavalry, 
In  Charge  of  Apache  prisoners  of  war. 


5th  Endorsement. 

Fort  Sill,  O.  T.,  Sept.  4th,  1905. 
Respectfully  returned  to  the  Military  Secretary, 
Dept.  of  Texas,  San  Antonio,  Texas,  inviting  atten- 
tion to  4th  endorsement  hereon.  It  is  recommended 
that  the  manuscript  be  submitted  before  publication 
to  Lieut.  Purington,  who  can  pass  upon  the  truth  of 
the  story. 

(Signed)  A.  L.  Dade, 
Captain,   13th  Cavalry,  Commanding. 


6th  Endorsement. 
Headquarters  Dept.  of  Texas, 
San  Antonio,  September  8th,  1905. 
Respectfully   returned   to   the   Military   Secretary, 

xvii 


INTRODUCTORY 

War  Department,  Washington,  D.  C,  inviting  at- 
tention to  the  preceding  endorsement  hereon,  which 
is  concurred  in. 

(Signed)  J.  M.  Lee, 
Brigadier  General,  Commanding. 


7th  Endorsement. 

War  Department, 
Office  of  the  Chief  of  Staff, 
Washington,  September  13th,  1905. 
Respectfully  submitted  to  the  Honorable  the  Sec- 
retary of  War,  inviting  attention  to  the   foregoing 
endorsements. 

(Signed)  J.  C.  Bates, 
Major  General,  Acting  Chief  of  Staff. 


8th  Endorsement. 

War  Department, 
September  15th,  1905. 
Respectfully  returned  to  the  Acting  Chief  of  Staff 
to  grant  the  necessary  authority  in  this  matter, 
through  official  channels,  with  the  express  understand- 
ing that  the  manuscript  of  the  book  shall  be  submitted 
to  him  before  publication.  Upon  receipt  of  such 
manuscript  the  Chief  of  Staff  will  submit  it  to  such 
person    as   he   may   select   as   competent  to   make   a 

xviii 


INTRODUCTORY 

proper  and  critical  inspection  of  the  proposed  pub- 
lication. 

(Signed)  Robert  Shaw  Oliver, 

Acting  Secretary  of  War. 


9th  Endorsement. 

War  Department, 
The  Military  Secretary's  Office, 
Washington,  September  18th,  1905. 
Respectfully  returned,  by  direction  of  the  Acting 
Chief  of  Staff,  to  the  Commanding  General,  Dept.  of 
Texas,  who  will  give  the  necessary  instructions  for 
carrying  out  the  directions  of  the  Acting  Secretary 
of  War,   contained   in   the   8th   endorsement.      It  is 
desired  that  Mr.  Barrett  be  advised  accordingly. 

(Signed)  Henry  P.  McCain, 

Military  Secretary. 


10th  Endorsement. 

Headquarters  Dept.  of  Texas, 
Military  Secretary's  Office, 
San  Antonio,  September  23,  1905. 
Respectfully  referred  to  the  Commanding  Officer, 
Fort   Sill,   Oklahoma   Territory,   who   will    give   the 
necessary  instructions  for  carrying  out  the  direction 
of  the  Acting  Secretary  of  War  contained  in  the  8th 
endorsement  hereon. 

six 


INTRODUCTORY 

This  paper  will  be  shown  and  fully  explained  to 
Mr.  Barrett,  and  then  returned  to  these  headquarters. 
By  order  of  Colonel  Hughes. 

(Signed)  Geo.  Van  Horn  Moseley, 
1st.  Lieut.  1st  Cavalry,  Aide-de-Camp, 

Acting  Military  Secretary. 

Early  in  October  I  secured  the  services  of 
an  educated  Indian,  Asa  Deklugie,  son  of 
Whoa,  chief  of  the  Nedni  Apaches,  as  in- 
terpreter, and  the  work  of  compiling  the 
book  began. 

Geronimo  refused  to  talk  when  a  stenog- 
rapher was  present,  or  to  wait  for  correc- 
tions or  questions  when  telling  the  story. 
Each  day  he  had  in  mind  what  he  would  tell 
and  told  it  in  a  very  clear,  brief  manner. 
He  might  prefer  to  talk  at  his  own  tepee,  at 
Asa  Deklugie's  house,  in  some  mountain 
dell,  or  as  he  rode  in  a  swinging  gallop  across 
the  prairie;  wherever  his  fancy  led  him, 
there  he  told  whatever  he  wished  to  tell  and 
no  more.  On  the  day  that  he  first  gave  any 
portion  of  his  autobiography  he  would  not 

XX 


INTRODUCTORY 

be  questioned  about  any  details,  nor  would 
he  add  another  word,  but  simply  said, 
"  Write  what  I  have  spoken,"  and  left  us 
to  remember  and  write  the  story  without  one 
bit  of  assistance.  He  would  agree,  however, 
to  come  on  another  day  to  my  study,  or  any 
place  designated  by  me,  and  listen  to  the 
reproduction  (in  Apache)  of  what  had  been 
told,  and  at  such  times  would  answer  all 
questions  or  add  information  wherever  he 
could  be  convinced  that  it  was  necessary. 

He  soon  became  so  tired  of  book  making 
that  he  would  have  abandoned  the  task  but 
for  the  fact  that  he  had  agreed  to  tell  the 
complete  story.  When  he  once  gives  his 
word,  nothing  will  turn  him  from  fulfilling 
his  promise.  A  very  striking  illustration  of 
this  was  furnished  by  him  early  in  January, 
1906.  He  had  agreed  to  come  to  my  study 
on  a  certain  date,  but  at  the  appointed  hour 
the  interpreter  came  alone,  and  said  that 
Geronimo  was  very  sick  with  cold  and  fever. 
He  had  come  to  tell  me  that  we  must  ap- 

xxi 


INTRODUCTORY 

point  another  date,  as  he  feared  the  old  war- 
rior had  an  attack  of  pneumonia.  It  was  a 
cold  day  and  the  interpreter  drew  a  chair  up 
to  the  grate  to  warm  himself  after  the  ex- 
posure of  the  long  ride.  Just  as  he  was 
seating  himself  he  looked  out  of  the  window, 
then  rose  quickly,  and  without  speaking 
pointed  to  a  rapidly  moving  object  coming 
our  way.  In  a  moment  I  recognized  the  old 
chief  riding  furiously  (evidently  trying  to 
arrive  as  soon  as  the  interpreter  did),  his 
horse  flecked  with  foam  and  reeling  from 
exhaustion.  Dismounting  he  came  in  and 
said  in  a  hoarse  whisper,  "  I  promised  to 
come.     I  am  here." 

I  explained  to  him  that  I  had  not  ex- 
pected him  to  come  on  such  a  stormy  day, 
and  that  in  his  physical  condition  he  must 
not  try  to  work.  He  stood  for  some  time, 
and  then  without  speaking  left  the  room,  re- 
mounted his  tired  pony,  and  with  bowed 
head  faced  ten  long  miles  of  cold  north  wind 
— he  had  kept  his  promise. 

xxii 


INTRODUCTORY 

When  he  had  finished  his  story  I  sub- 
mitted the  manuscript  to  Major  Charles  W. 
Taylor,  Eighteenth  Cavalry,  commandant, 
Fort  Sill,  Oklahoma,  who  gave  me  some  val- 
uable suggestions  as  to  additional  related 
information  which  I  asked  Geronimo  to 
give.  In  most  cases  the  old  chief  gave  the 
desired  information,  but  in  some  instances 
he  refused,  stating  his  reasons  for  so  doing. 

When  the  added  information  had  been  in- 
corporated I  submitted  the  manuscript  to 
President  Roosevelt,  from  whose  letter  I 
quote:  "  This  is  a  very  interesting  volume 
which  you  have  in  manuscript,  but  I  would 
advise  that  you  disclaim  responsibility  in  all 
cases  where  the  reputation  of  an  individual 
is  assailed." 

In  accordance  with  that  suggestion,  I 
have  appended  notes  throughout  the  book 
disclaiming  responsibility  for  adverse  criti- 
cisms of  any  persons  mentioned  by  Ge- 
ronimo. 

On  JTune  2d,    1906,    I   transmitted   the 

xxiii 


INTRODUCTORY 

complete  manuscript  to  the  War  Depart- 
ment. The  following  quotation  is  from  the 
letter  of  transmission : 

"  In  accordance  with  endorsement  number  eight  of 
the  '  Brief '  submitted  to  me  by  the  commanding 
officer  of  Fort  Sill,  which  endorsement  constituted  the 
instructions  of  the  Department,  I  submit  herewith 
manuscript  of  the  Autobiography  of  Geronimo. 

"  The  manuscript  has  been  submitted  to  the  Presi- 
dent, and  at  his  suggestion  I  have  disclaimed  any 
responsibility  for  the  criticisms  (made  by  Geronimo) 
of  individuals  mentioned." 

Six  weeks  after  the  manuscript  was  for- 
warded, Thomas  C.  Barry,  Brigadier  Gen- 
eral, Assistant  to  the  Chief  of  Staff ,  sent  to 
the  President  the  following: 

"  Memorandum  for  the  Secretary  of  War. 
"  Subject:  Manuscript  of  the  Autobiography  of 
Geronimo.  The  paper  herewith,  which  was  referred 
to  this  office  on  July  6th,  with  instructions  to  report 
as  to  whether  there  is  anything  objectionable  in  it,  is 
returned. 

"  The  manuscript  is  an  interesting  autobiography 
of  a  notable  Indian,  made  by  himself.     There  are  a 

xxiv 


INTRODUCTORY 

number  of  passages  which,  from  the  departmental 
point  of  view,  are  decidedly  objectionable.  These  are 
found  on  pages  73,  74,  90,  91,  and  97,  and  are  indi- 
cated by  marginal  lines  in  red.  The  entire  manu- 
script appears  in  a  way  important  as  showing  the 
Indian  side  of  a  prolonged  controversy,  but  it  is 
believed  that  the  document,  either  in  whole  or  in  part, 
should  not  receive  the  approval  of  the  War  De- 
partment." 

The  memorandum  is  published  that  the 
objections  of  the  War  Department  may  be 
made  known  to  the  public. 

The  objection  is  raised  to  the  mention  on 
pages  seventy-three  and  seventy- four  of  the 
manuscript  of  an  attack  upon  Indians  in  a 
tent  at  Apache  Pass  or  Bowie,  by  U.  S. 
soldiers.  The  statement  of  Geronimo  is, 
however,  substantially  confirmed  by  L.  C. 
Hughes,  editor  of  The,  Star,  Tucson, 
Arizona. 

On  pages  ninety  and  ninety-one  of  the 
manuscript,  Geronimo  criticised  General 
Crook.  This  criticism  is  simply  Geronimo's 
private   opinion  of   General   Crook.     We 

XXV 


INTRODUCTORY 

deem  it  a  personal  matter  and  leave  it  with- 
out comment,  as  it  in  no  way  concerns  the 
history  of  the  Apaches. 

On  page  ninety-seven  of  the  manuscript 
Geronimo  accuses  General  Miles  of  bad 
faith.  Of  course,  General  Miles  made  the 
treaty  with  the  Apaches,  but  we  know  very 
well  that  he  is  not  responsible  for  the  way 
the  Government  subsequently  treated  the 
prisoners  of  war.  However,  Geronimo  can- 
not understand  this  and  fixes  upon  General 
Miles  the  blame  for  what  he  calls  unjust 
treatment. 

One  could  not  expect  the  Department  of 
War  to  approve  adverse  criticisms  of  its 
own  acts,  but  it  is  especially  gratifying  that 
such  a  liberal  view  has  been  taken  of  these 
criticisms,  and  also  that  such  a  frank  state- 
ment of  the  merits  of  the  Autobiography  is 
submitted  in  the  memorandum.  Of  course 
neither  the  President  nor  the  War  Depart- 
ment is  in  any  way  responsible  for  what 
Geronimo  says ;  he  has  simply  been  granted 

xxvi 


INTRODUCTORY 

the  opportunity  to  state  his  own  case  as  he 
sees  it. 

The  fact  that  Geronimo  has  told  the  story 
in  his  own  way  is  doubtless  the  only  excuse 
necessary  to  offer  for  the  many  unconven- 
tional features  of  this  work. 


xxvu 


»      ■    "»  »    •    I 

»    »  » V  !     •  •    .  •.*  . 

, ,    .    t  •      »    •  • 


•    •     •     »      »••».».  » •.  ».   •  • 


t    f  ■  •       * 


•       •  •    > 


...  A  :..:rv  :•%!'•!  :.-■ 


PART  I 
THE   APACHES 


>  .» 


GERONIMO 

CHAPTER   I 

ORIGIN  OF  THE  APACHE  INDIANS 

IN  the  beginning  the  world  was  covered 
with  darkness.  There  was  no  sun,  no 
day.  The  perpetual  night  had  no  moon  or 
stars. 

There  were,  however,  all  manner  of  beasts 
and  birds.  Among  the  beasts  were  many 
hideous,  nameless  monsters,  as  well  as 
dragons,  lions,  tigers,  wolves,  foxes,  beavers, 
rabbits,  squirrels,  rats,  mice,  and  all  manner 
of  creeping  things  such  as  lizards  and  ser- 
pents. Mankind  could  not  prosper  under 
such  conditions,  for  the  beasts  and  serpents 
destroyed  all  human  offspring. 

All  creatures  had  the  power  of  speech  and 
were  gifted  with  reason. 

There  were  two  tribes  of  creatures:  the 
birds  or  the  feathered  tribe  and  the  beasts. 

3 


GERONIMO 

The  former  were  organized  under  their 
chief,  the  eagle. 

These  tribes  often  held  councils,  and  the 
birds  wanted  light  admitted.  This  the  beasts 
repeatedly  refused  to  do.  Finally  the  birds 
made  war  against  the  beasts. 

The  beasts  were  armed  with  clubs,  but  the 
eagle  had  taught  his  tribe  to  use  bows  and 
arrows.  The  serpents  were  so  wise  that  they 
could  not  all  be  killed.  One  took  refuge  in 
a  perpendicular  cliff  of  a  mountain  in  Ari- 
zona, and  his  eye  (changed  into  a  brilliant 
stone)  may  be  seen  in  that  rock  to  this  day. 
The  bears,  when  killed,  would  each  be 
changed  into  several  other  bears,  so  that  the 
more  bears  the  feathered  tribe  killed,  the 
more  there  were.  The  dragon  could  not  be 
killed,  either,  for  he  was  covered  with 
four  coats  of  horny  scales,  and  the  arrows 
would  not  penetrate  these.  One  of  the 
most  hideous,  vile  monsters  (nameless)  was 
proof  against  arrows,  so  the  eagle  flew 
high   up    in   the  air   with   a  round,    white 

4 


ORIGIN    OF   THE   APACHE 

stone,  and  let  it  fall  on  this  monster's 
head,  killing  him  instantly.  This  was  such 
a  good  service  that  the  stone  was  called 
sacred.  (A  symbol  of  this  stone  is  used  in 
the  tribal  game  of  Kah.1)  They  fought 
for  many  days,  but  at  last  the  birds  won  the 
victory. 

After  this  war  was  over,  although  some 
evil  beasts  remained,  the  birds  were  able  to 
control  the  councils,  and  light  was  admitted. 
Then  mankind  could  live  and  prosper.  The 
eagle  was  chief  in  this  good  fight:  therefore, 
his  feathers  were  worn  by  man  as  emblems 
of  wisdom,  justice,  and  power. 

Among  the  few  human  beings  that  were 
yet  alive  was  a  woman  who  had  been  blessed 
with  many  children,  but  these  had  always 
been  destroyed  by  the  beasts.  If  by  any 
means  she  succeeded  in  eluding  the  others, 
the  dragon,  who  was  very  wise  and  very  evil, 
would  come  himself  and  eat  her  babes. 

After  many  years  a  son  of  the  rainstorm 

i  See  Chapter  IV. 
5 


GERONIMO 

was  born  to  her  and  she  dug  for  him  a  deep 
cave.  The  entrance  to  this  cave  she  closed 
and  over  the  spot  built  a  camp  fire..  This 
concealed  the  babe's  hiding  place  and  kept 
him  warm.  Every  day  she  would  remove 
the  fire  and  descend  into  the  cave,  where  the 
child's  bed  was,  to  nurse  him;  then  she 
would  return  and  rebuild  the  camp  fire. 

Frequently  the  dragon  would  come  and 
question  her,  but  she  would  say,  "  I  have  no 
more  children;  you  have  eaten  all  of  them." 

When  the  child  was  larger  he  would  not 
always  stay  in  the  cave,  for  he  sometimes 
wanted  to  run  and  play.  Once  the  dragon 
saw  his  tracks.  Now  this  perplexed  and  en- 
raged the  old  dragon,  for  he  could  not  find 
the  hiding  place  of  the  boy;  but  he  said  that 
he  would  destroy  the  mother  if  she  did  not 
reveal  the  child's  hiding  place.  The  poor 
mother  was  very  much  troubled;  she  could 
not  give  up  her  child,  but  she  knew  the 
power  and  cunning  of  the  dragon,  therefore 

she  lived  in  constant  fear. 

6 


ORIGIN    OF   THE    APACHE 

Soon  after  this  the  boy  said  that  he 
wished  to  go  hunting.  The  mother  would 
not  give  her  consent.  She  told  him  of  the 
dragon,  the  wolves,  and  the  serpents;  but  he 
said,  "  To-morrow  I  go." 

At  the  boy's  request  his  uncle  (who  was 
the  only  man  then  living)  made  a  little  bow 
and  some  arrows  for  him,  and  the  two  went 
hunting  the  next  day.  They  trailed  the  deer 
far  up  the  mountain  and  finally  the  boy 
killed  a  buck.  His  uncle  showed  him  how  to 
dress  the  deer  and  broil  the  meat.  They 
broiled  two  hind  quarters,  one  for  the  child 
and  one  for  his  uncle.  When  the  meat  was 
done  they  placed  it  on  some  bushes  to  cool. 
Just  then  the  huge  form  of  the  dragon  ap- 
peared. The  child  was  not  afraid,  but  his 
uncle  was  so  dumb  with  fright  that  he  did 
not  speak  or  move. 

The  dragon  took  the  boy's  parcel  of  meat 
and  went  aside  with  it.  He  placed  the  meat 
on  another  bush  and  seated  himself  beside 
it.    Then  he  said,  "  This  is  the  child  I  have 

7 


GERONIMO 

been  seeking.  Boy,  you  are  nice  and  fat, 
so  when  I  have  eaten  this  venison  I  shall  eat 
you."  The  boy  said,  "  No,  you  shall  not  eat 
me,  and  you  shall  not  eat  that  meat."  So  he 
walked  over  to  where  the  dragon  sat  and 
took  the  meat  back  to  his  own  seat.  The 
dragon  said,  "  I  like  your  courage,  but  you 
are  foolish;  what  do  you  think  you  could 
do?"  "Well,"  said  the  boy,  "I  can  do 
enough  to  protect  myself,  as  you  may  find 
out."  Then  the  dragon  took  the  meat  again, 
and  then  the  boy  retook  it.  Four  times  in 
all  the  dragon  took  the  meat,  and  after  the 
fourth  time  the  boy  replaced  the  meat  he 
said,  "Dragon,  will  you  fight  me?"  The 
dragon  said,  "  Yes,  in  whatever  way  you 
like."  The  boy  said,  "  I  will  stand  one  hun- 
dred paces  distant  from  you  and  you  may 
have  four  shots  at  me  with  your  bow  and 
arrows,  provided  that  you  will  then  ex- 
change places  with  me  and  give  me  four 
shots."  "  Good,"  said  the  dragon.  "  Stand 
up. 

8 


Dressed  as  ix  Days  of  Old 


'F 


\  ORIGIN    OF   THE   APACHE 

Then  the  dragon  took  his  bow,  which  was 
made  of  a  large  pine  tree.  He  took  four  ar- 
rows from  his  quiver;  they  were  made  of 
young  pine  tree  saplings,  and  each  arrow 
was  twenty  feet  in  length.  He  took  delib- 
erate aim,  but  just  as  the  arrow  left  the  bow 
the  boy  made  a  peculiar  sound  and  leaped 
into  the  air.  Immediately  the  arrow  was 
shivered  into  a  thousand  splinters,  and  the 
boy  was  seen  standing  on  the  top  of  a  bright 
rainbow  over  the  spot  where  the  dragon's 
aim  had  been  directed.  Soon  the  rainbow  was 
gone  and  the  boy  was  standing  on  the  ground 
again.  Four  times  this  was  repeated,  then 
the  boy  said,  "Dragon,  stand  here;  it  is  my 
time  to  shoot."  The  dragon  said,  "All 
right;  your  little  arrows  cannot  pierce  my 
first  coat  of  horn,  and  I  have  three  other 
coats — -shoot  away."  The  boy  shot  an  ar- 
row, striking  the  dragon  just  over  the  heart, 
and  one  coat  of  the  great  horny  scales  fell 
to  f  e  ground.  The  next  shot  another  coat, 
ana  then  another,  and  the  dragon's  heart  was 

9 


GERONIMO 

exposed.  Then  the  dragon  trembled,  but 
could  not  move.  Before  the  fourth  arrow 
was  shot  the  boy  said,  "Uncle,  you  are 
dumb  with  fear;  you  have  not  moved;  come 
here  or  the  dragon  will  fall  on  you."  His 
uncle  ran  toward  him.  Then  he  sped  the 
fourth  arrow  with  true  aim,  and  it  pierced 
the  dragon's  heart.  With  a  tremendous 
roar  the  dragon  rolled  down  the  mountain 
side — down  four  precipices  into  a  canon 
below. 

Immediately  storm  clouds  swept  the  moun- 
tains, lightning  flashed,  thunder  rolled,  and 
the  rain  poured.  When  the  rainstorm  had 
passed,  far  down  in  the  canon  below,  they 
could  see  fragments  of  the  huge  body  of  the 
dragon  lying  among  the  rocks,  and  the  bones 
of  this  dragon  may  still  be  found  there. 

This  boy's  name  was  Apache.  Usen2 
taught  him  how  to  prepare  herbs  for  medi- 

2  Usen  is  the  Apache  word  for  God.  It  is  used  here  be- 
cause it  implies  the  attributes  of  deity  that  are  held  in 
their   primitive   religion.     "  Apache "   means   "  Enemy." 

10 


ORIGIN    OF   THE   APACHE 

cine,  how  to  hunt,  and  how  to  fight.  He  was 
the  first  chief  of  the  Indians  and  wore  the 
eagle's  feathers  as  the  sign  of  justice,  wis- 
dom, and  power.  To  him,  and  to  his  people, 
as  they  were  created,  Usen  gave  homes  in  the 
land  of  the  west. 


11 


CHAPTER   II 

SUBDIVISIONS   OF   THE   APACHE   TRIBE 

THE  Apache  Indians  are  divided  into 
six  sub-tribes.  To  one  of  these,  the 
Be-don-ko-he,  I  belong. 

Our  tribe  inhabited  that  region  of  moun- 
tainous country  which  lies  west  from  the  east 
line  of  Arizona,  and  south  from  the  head- 
waters of  the  Gila  River. 

East  of  us  lived  the  Chi-hen-ne  (Ojo 
Caliente),  (Hot  Springs)  Apaches.  Our 
tribe  never  had  any  difficulty  with  them. 
Victoria,  their  chief,  was  always  a  friend  to 
me.  He  always  helped  our  tribe  when  we 
asked  him  for  help.  He  lost  his  life  in  the 
defense  of  the  rights  of  his  people.  He  was 
a  good  man  and  a  brave  warrior.  His  son 
Charlie  now  lives  here  in  this  reservation 
with  us. 

12 


THE   APACHE    TRIBE 

North  of  us  lived  the  White  Mountain 
Apaches.  They  were  not  always  on  the  best 
of  terms  with  our  tribe,  yet  we  seldom  had 
any  war  -with  them.  I  knew  their  chief, 
Hash-ka-ai-la,  personally,  and  I  considered 
him  a  good  warrior.  Their  range  was  next 
to  that  of  the  Navajo  Indians,  who  were  not 
of  the  same  blood  as  the  Apaches.  We  held 
councils  with  all  Apache  tribes,  but  never 
with  the  Navajo  Indians.  However,  we 
traded  with  them  and  sometimes  visited 
them. 

To  the  west  of  our  country  ranged  the 
Chi-e-ajien  Apaches.  They  had  two  chiefs 
within  my  time,  Co-si-to  and  Co-da-hoo-yah. 
They  were  friendly,  but  not  intimate  with 
our  tribe. 

South  of  us  lived  the  Cho-kon-en  ( Chiri- 
cahua)  Apaches,  whose  chief  in  the  old  days 
was  Co-chise,  and  later  his  son,  Naiche.  This 
tribe  was  always  on  the  most  friendly  terms 
with  us.  We  were  often  in  camp  and  on 
the  trail  together.     Naiche,  who  was  my 

13 


GERONIMO 

companion  in  arms,  is  now  my  companion 
in  bondage. 

To  the  south  and  west  of  us  lived  the 
Ned-ni  Apaches.  Their  chief  was  Whoa, 
called  by  the  Mexicans  Capitan  Whoa. 
They  were  our  firm  friends.  The  land  of 
this  tribe  lies  partly  in  Old  Mexico  and 
partly  in  Arizona.1  Whoa  and  I  often 
camped  and  fought  side  by  side  as  brothers. 
My  enemies  were  his  enemies,  my  friends  his 
friends.  He  is  dead  now,  but  his  son  Asa  is 
interpreting  this  story  for  me. 

Still  the  four  tribes  (Bedonkohe,  Cho- 
konen,  Chihenne,  and  Nedni) ,  who  were  fast 
friends  in  the  days  of  freedom,  cling  to- 
gether as  they  decrease  in  number.  Only  the 
destruction  of  all  our  people  would  dissolve 
our  bonds  of  friendship. 

i  The  boundary  lines  established  at  different  times  be- 
tween Mexico  and  the  United  States  did  not  conform  to 
the  boundary  lines  of  these  Apache  tribes,  of  course,  and 
the  Indians  soon  saw  and  took  advantage  of  the  inter- 
national questions  arising  from  the  conflicting  interests  of 
the  two  governments. 

14 


Naiche  (Natches),  son  of  Cohise.     Hereditary  chief  of  the 

Chiricahua  Apaches.     Naiche  was  Geronimo's  lieutenant 

during  the  protracted  wars  in  Arizona 


THE    APACHE    TRIBE 

We  are  vanishing  from  the  earth,  yet  I 
cannot  think  we  are  useless  or  Usen  would 
not  have  created  us.  He  created  all  tribes 
of  men  and  certainly  had  a  righteous  pur- 
pose in  creating  each. 

For  each  tribe  of  men  Usen  created  He 
also  made  a  home.  In  the  land  created  for 
any  particular  tribe  He  placed  whatever 
would  be  best  for  the  welfare  of  that 
tribe. 

When  Usen  created  the  Apaches  He  also 
created  their  homes  in  the  West.  He  gave 
to  them  such  grain,  fruits,  and  game  as  they 
needed  to  eat.  To  restore  their  health  when 
disease  attacked  them  He  made  many  differ- 
ent herbs  to  grow.  He  taught  them  where  to 
find  these  herbs,  and  how  to  prepare  them 
for  medicine.  He  gave  them  a  pleasant  cli- 
mate and  all  they  needed  for  clothing  and 
shelter  was  at  hand. 

Thus  it  was  in  the  beginning:  the  Apaches 
and  their  homes  each  created  for  the  other 
by  Usen  himself.     When  they  are  taken 

15 


GERONIMO 

from  these  homes  they  sicken  and  die.  How 
long 2  will  it  be  until  it  is  said,  there  are  no 
Apaches? 

2  The  Apache  Indians  held  prisoners  of  war  are  greatly 
decreasing  in  numbers.  There  seems  to  be  no  particular 
cause,  but  nevertheless  their  numbers  grow  smaller. 


16 


CHAPTER  III 

EARLY  LIFE 

1WAS  born  in  No-doyohn  Canon,  Ari- 
zona, June,  1829. 
In  that  country  which  lies  around  the 
headwaters  of  the  Gila  River  I  was  reared. 
This  range  was  our  fatherland;  among  these 
mountains  our  wigwams  were  hidden;  the 
scattered  valleys  contained  our  fields;  the 
boundless  prairies,  stretching  away  on  every 
side,  were  our  pastures;  the  rocky  caverns 
were  our  burying  places. 

I  was  fourth  *  in  a  family  of  eight  chil- 

i  Four  is  a  magic  number  with  the  Bedonkohe  Apaches. 
The  dragon  had  four  coats  of  scales;  he  took  little  Apache's 
meat  four  times;  they  (the  dragon  and  Apache)  exchanged 
four  shots — the  dragon  rolled  down  four  precipices.  There 
are  four  moccasins  used  in  the  tribal  game  of  Kah,  and 
only  four  plays  that  can  be  made.  A  boy  must  accom- 
pany the  warriors  four  times  on  the  warpath  before  he 
can  be  admitted  to  the  council. 

Geronimo  is  the  fourth  of  a  family  of  four  boys  and 

17 


GERONIMO 

dren — four  boys  and  four  girls.  Of  that 
family,  only  myself,  my  brother,  Porico 
(White  Horse),  and  my  sister,  Nah-da-ste, 
are  yet  alive.  We  are  held  as  prisoners  of 
war  in  this  Military  Reservation  (Fort 
Sill). 

As  a  babe  I  rolled  on  the  dirt  floor  of  my 
father's  tepee,  hung  in  my  tsoch  (Apache 
name  for  cradle)  at  my  mother's  back,  or 
suspended  from  the  bough  of  a  tree.  I  was 
warmed  by  the  sun,  rocked  by  the  winds, 
and  sheltered  by  the  trees  as  other  Indian 
babes. 

When  a  child  my  mother  taught  me  the 
legends  of  our  people ;  taught  me  of  the  sun 
and  sky*  the  moon  and  stars,  the  clouds  and 

four  girls.  He  has  hart  four  wives  that  were  full-blood 
Bedonkohe  Apaches,  and  four  that  were  part  Bedonkohe 
Apache  and  part  other  Apache  blood.  Four  of  his  children 
have  been  killed  by  Mexicans  and  four  have  been  held  in 
bondage  by  the  U.  S.  Government.  He  firmly  believes  in 
destiny  and  in  the  magic  of  the  number  four.  Besides 
Geronimo,  only  four  full-blood  Bedonkohe  Apaches  are  now 
living.  They  are  Porico  (White  Horse),  Nah-de-ste,  Mah- 
ta-neal,  and  To-klon-nen. 

18 


,;  * 


HBHHB 


EARLY   LIFE 

storms.  She  also  taught  me  to  kneel  and 
pray  to  Usen  for  strength,  health,  wisdom, 
and  protection.  We  never  prayed  against 
any  person,  but  if  we  had  aught  against  any 
individual  we  ourselves  took  vengeance.  We 
were  taught  that  Usen  does  not  care  for  the 
petty  quarrels  of  men. 

My  father  had  often  told  me  of  the  brave 
deeds  of  our  warriors,  of  the  pleasures  of 
the  chase,  and  the  glories  of  the  warpath. 

With  my  brothers  and  sisters  I  played 
about  my  father's  home.  Sometimes  we 
played  at  hide-and-seek  among  the  rocks  and 
pines ;  sometimes  we  loitered  in  the  shade  of 
the  cottonwood  trees  or  sought  the  shudock 
(a  kind  of  wild  cherry)  while  our  parents 
worked  in  the  field.  Sometimes  we  played 
that  we  were  warriors.  We  would  practice 
stealing  upon  some  object  that  represented 
an  enemy,  and  in  our  childish  imitation  often 
perform  the  feats  of  war.  Sometimes  we 
would  hide  away  from  our  mother  to  see  if 
she  could  find  us,  and  often  when  thus  con- 

19 


GERONIMO 

cealed  go  to  sleep  and  perhaps  remain  hid- 
den for  many  hours. 

When  we  were  old  enough  to  be  of  real 
service  we  went  to  the  field  with  our  parents : 
not  to  play,  but  to  toil.  When  the  crops 
were  to  be  planted  we  broke  the  ground 
with  wooden  hoes.  We  planted  the  corn  in 
straight  rows,  the  beans  among  the  corn,  and 
the  melons  and  pumpkins  in  irregular  order 
over  the  field.  We  cultivated  these  crops  as 
there  was  need. 

Our  field  usually  contained  about  two 
acres  of  ground.  The  fields  were  never 
fenced.  It  was  common  for  many  families 
to  cultivate  land  in  the  same  valley  and  share 
the  burden  of  protecting  the  growing  crops 
from  destruction  by  the  ponies  of  the  tribe, 
or  by  deer  and  other  wild  animals. 

Melons  were  gathered  as  they  were  con- 
sumed. In  the  autumn  pumpkins  and  beans 
were  gathered  and  placed  in  bags  or  baskets ; 
ears  of  corn  were  tied  together  by  the  husks, 
and  then  the  harvest  was  carried  on  the  backs 

20 


EARLY   LIFE 

of  ponies  up  to  our  homes.  Here  the  corn 
was  shelled,  and  all  the  harvest  stored  away 
in  caves  or  other  secluded  places  to  be  used 
in  winter. 

We  never  fed  corn  to  our  ponies,  but  if 
we  kept  them  up  in  the  winter  time  we  gave 
them  fodder  to  eat.  We  had  no  cattle  or 
other  domestic  animals  except  our  dogs  and 
ponies. 

We  did  not  cultivate  tobacco,  but  found 
it  growing  wild.  This  we  cut  and  cured  in 
autumn,  but  if  the  supply  ran  out  the  leaves 
from  the  stalks  left  standing  served  our  pur- 
pose. All  Indians  smoked2 — men  and 
women.  No  boy  was  allowed  to  smoke  until 
he  had  hunted  alone  and  killed  large  game — 
wolves  and  bears.  Unmarried  women  were 
not  prohibited  from  smoking,  but  were  con- 
sidered immodest  if  they  did  so.  Nearly  all 
matrons  smoked. 

2  The  Apaches  did  not  smoke  the  peace  pipe,  unless  it 
was  proposed  by  some  other  Indians.  They  had  no  large 
pipes;  in  fact,  they  usually  smoked  cigarettes  made  by 
rolling  the  tobacco  in  wrappers  of  oak  leaves. 

21 


GERONIMO 

Besides  grinding  the  corn  (by  hand  with 
stone  mortars  and  pestles)  for  bread,  we 
sometimes  crushed  it  and  soaked  it,  and  after 
it  had  fermented  made  from  this  juice  a 
"  tis-win,"  which  had  the  power  of  intoxica- 
tion, and  was  very  highly  prized  by  the  In- 
dians. This  work  was  done  by  the  squaws 
and  children.  When  berries  or  nuts  were  to 
be  gathered  the  small  children  and  the 
squaws  would  go  in  parties  to  hunt  them, 
and  sometimes  stay  all  day.  When  they 
went  any  great  distance  from  camp  they 
took  ponies  to  carry  the  baskets. 

I  frequently  went  with  these  parties,  and 

upon   one    of  these   excursions   a   woman 

named  Cho-ko-le  got  lost  from  the  party 

and  was  riding  her  pony  through  a  thicket 

in  search  of  her  friends.    Her  little  dog  was 

following    as   she    slowly   made    her    way 

through  the  thick  underbrush  and  pine  trees. 

All  at  once  a  grizzly  bear  rose  in  her  path 

and  attacked  the  pony.     She  jumped  off 

and  her   pony   escaped,   but  the   bear   at- 

22 


■s : 


o 

3 

O 

c 


*5 

> 

a* 
o 

o 

?8 


EARLY   LIFE 

• 

tacked  her,  so  she  fought  him  the  best 
she  could  with  her  knife.  Her  little  dog,  by- 
snapping  at  the  bear's  heels  and  detracting 
his  attention  from  the  woman,  enabled  her 
for  some  time  to  keep  pretty  well  out  of  his 
reach.  Finally  the  grizzly  struck  her  over 
the  head,  tearing  off  almost  her  whole  scalp. 
She  fell,  but  did  not  lose  consciousness,  and 
while  prostrate  struck  him  four  good  licks 
with  her  knife,  and  he  retreated.  After  he 
had  gone  she  replaced  her  torn  scalp  and 
bound  it  up  as  best  she  could,  then  she  turned 
deathly  sick  and  had  to  lie  down.  That  night 
her  pony  came  into  camp  with  his  load  of 
nuts  and  berries,  but  no  rider.  The  Indians 
hunted  for  her,  but  did  not  find  her  until  the 
second  day.  They  carried  her  home,  and  un- 
der the  treatment  of  their  medicine  men  all 
her  wounds  were  healed. 

The  Indians  knew  what  herbs  to  use  for 
medicine,  how  to  prepare  them,  and  how  to 
give  the  medicine.  This  they  had  been 
taught  by  Usen  in  the  beginning,  and  each 

23 


GERONIMO 

succeeding  generation  had  men  who  were 
skilled  in  the  art  of  healing. 

In  gathering  the  herbs,  in  preparing  them, 
and  in  administering  the  medicine,  as  much 
faith  was  held  in  prayer  as  in  the  actual  ef- 
fect of  the  medicine.  Usually  about  eight 
persons  worked  together  in  making  medicine, 
and  there  were  forms  of  prayer  and  incanta- 
tions to  attend  each  stage  of  the  process. 
Four  attended  to  the  incantations  and  four 
to  the  preparation  of  the  herbs. 

Some  of  the  Indians  were  skilled  in  cut- 
ting out  bullets,  arrow  heads,  and  other  mis- 
siles with  which  warriors  were  wounded.  I 
myself  have  done  much  of  this,  using  a  com- 
mon dirk  or  butcher  knife.3 

Small  children  wore  very  little  clothing  in 
winter  and  none  in  the  summer.  Women 
usually  wore  a  primitive  skirt,  which  con- 
sisted of  a  piece  of  cotton  cloth  fastened 
about  the  waist,  and  extending  to  the  knees. 

s  The  only  foundation  for  the  statement,  frequently  made$ 
that  Geronimo  was  a  medicine  man. 

24 


EARLY   LIFE 

Men  wore  breech  cloths  and  moccasins.  In 
winter  they  had  shirts  and  leggings  in  addi- 
tion. 

Frequently  when  the  tribe  was  in  camp 
a  number  of  boys  and  girls,  by  agreement, 
would  steal  away  and  meet  at  a  place  several 
miles  distant,  where  they  could  play  all  day 
free  from  tasks.  They  were  never  punished 
for  these  frolics;  but  if  their  hiding  places 
were  discovered  they  were  ridiculed. 


25 


CHAPTER   IV 

TRIBAL  AMUSEMENTS,   MANNERS,   AND 

CUSTOMS 

TO  celebrate  each  noted  event  a  feast 
and  dance  would  be  given.  Perhaps 
only  our  own  people,  perhaps  neighboring 
tribes  would  be  invited.  These  festivities 
usually  lasted  for  about  four  days.  By  day 
we  feasted,  by  night  under  the  direction  of 
some  chief  we  danced.  The  music  for  our 
dance  was  singing  led  by  the  warriors,  and 
accompanied  by  beating  the  esadadedne 
(buckskin-on-a-hoop) .  No  words  were  sung 
— only  the  tones.  When  the  feasting  and 
dancing  were  over  we  would  have  horse 
races,  foot  races,  wrestling,  jumping,  and 
all  sorts  of  games  (gambling). 

Among  these  games  the  most  noted  was 
the  tribal  game  of  Kah  (foot) .  It  is  played 
as  follows :  Four  moccasins  are  placed  about 

26 


TRIBAL   CUSTOMS 

four  feet  apart  in  holes  in  the  ground,  dug 
in  a  row  on  one  side  of  the  camp,  and  on 
the  opposite  side  a  similar  parallel  row.  At 
night  a  camp  fire  is  started  between  these 
two  rows  of  moccasins,  and  the  players  are 
arranged  on  sides,  one  or  any  number  on 
each  side.  The  score  is  kept  by  a  bundle  of 
sticks,  from  which  each  side  takes  a  stick  for 
every  point  won.  First  one  side  takes  the 
bone  (a  symbol  of  the  white  rock  used  by  the 
eagle  in  slaying  the  nameless  monster — see 
Chapter  I),  puts  up  blankets  between  the 
four  moccasins  and  the  fire  so  that  the  op- 
posing team  cannot  observe  their  move- 
ments, and  then  begin  to  sing  the  legends  of 
creation.  The  side  having  the  bone  repre- 
sents the  feathered  tribe,  the  opposite  side 
represents  the  beasts.  The  players  repre- 
senting the  birds  do  all  the  singing,  and 
while  singing  hide  the  bone  in  one  of  the 
moccasins,  then  the  blankets  are  thrown 
down.  They  continue  to  sing,  but  as  soon 
as  the  blankets  are  thrown  down  the  chosen 

27 


GERONIMO 

player  from  the  opposing  team,  armed  with 
a  war  club,  comes  to  their  side  of  the  camp 
fire  and  with  his  club  strikes  the  moccasin 
in  which  he  thinks  the  bone  is  hidden.  If  he 
strikes  the  right  moccasin,  his  side  gets  the 
bone,  and  in  turn  represents  the  birds,  while 
the  opposing  team  must  keep  quiet  and 
guess  in  turn.  There  are  only  four  plays; 
three  that  lose  and  one  that  wins.  When  all 
the  sticks  are  gone  from  the  bundle  the  side 
having  the  largest  number  of  sticks  is 
counted  winner. 

This  game  is  seldom  played  except  as  a 
gambling  game,  but  for  that  purpose  it  is 
the  most  popular  game  known  to  the  tribe. 
Usually  the  game  lasts  four  or  five  hours. 
It  is  never  played  in  daytime. 

After  the  games  are  all  finished  the  vis- 
itors say,  "  We  are  satisfied,"  and  the  camp 
is  broken  up.  I  was  always  glad  when  the 
dances  and  feasts  were  announced.  So  were 
all  the  other  young  people. 

Our  life  also  had  a  religious  side.     We 

28 


TRIBAL   CUSTOMS 

had  no  churches,  no  religious  organizations^ 
no  sabbath  day,  no  holidays,  and  yet  we  wor- 
shiped. Sometimes  the  whole  tribe  would 
assemble  to  sing  and  pray;  sometimes  a 
smaller  number,  perhaps  only  two  or  three. 
The  songs  had  a  few  words,  but  were  not 
formal.  The  singer  would  occasionally  put 
in  such  words  as  he  wished  instead  of  the 
usual  tone  sound.  Sometimes  we  prayed  in 
silence;  sometimes  each  one  prayed  aloud; 
sometimes  an  aged  person  prayed  for  all  of 
us.  At  other  times  one  would  rise  and  speak 
to  us  of  our  duties  1  to  each  other  and  to 
Usen.    Our  services  were  short. 

When  disease  or  pestilence  abounded  we 
were  assembled  and  questioned  by  our  lead- 
ers to  ascertain  what  evil  we  had  done,  and 
how  Usen  could  be  satisfied.     Sometimes 

1  The  Apaches  recognized  no  duties  to  any  man  outside 
their  tribe.  It  was  no  sin  to  kill  enemies  or  to  rob  them. 
However,  if  they  accepted  any  favor  from  a  stranger,  op 
allowed  him  to  share  their  comforts  in  any  way,  he  became 
(by  adoption)  related  to  the  tribe  and  they  must  recognize 
their  duty  to  him. 

29 


GERONIMO 

sacrifice  was  deemed  necessary.  Sometimes 
the  offending  one  was  punished. 

If  an  Apache  had  allowed  his  aged  par- 
ents to  suffer  for  food  or  shelter,  if  he  had 
neglected  or  abused  the  sick,  if  he  had  pro- 
faned our  religion,  or  had  been  unfaithful, 
he  might  be  banished  from  the  tribe. 

The  Apaches  had  no  prisons  as  white  men 
have.  Instead  of  sending  their  criminals 
into  prison  they  sent  them  out  of  their  tribe. 
These  faithless,  cruel,  lazy,  or  cowardly 
members  of  the  tribe  were  excluded  in  such 
a  manner  that  they  could  not  join  any  other 
tribe.  Neither  could  they  have  any  protec- 
tion from  our  unwritten  tribal  laws.  Fre- 
quently these  outlaw  Indians  banded  to- 
gether and  committed  depredations  which 
were  charged  against  the  regular  tribe. 
However,  the  life  of  an  outlaw  Indian  was 
a  hard  lot,  and  their  bands  never  became 
very  large;  besides,  these  bands  frequently 
provoked  the  wrath  of  the  tribe  and  secured 

their  own  destruction. 

so 


. 


The   Conquered   Weapon 


TRIBAL   CUSTOMS 

When  I  was  about  eight  or  ten  years  old 
I  began  to  follow  the  chase,  and  to  me  this 
was  never  work. 

Out  on  the  prairies,  which  ran  up  to  our 
mountain  homes,  wandered  herds  of  deer, 
antelope,  elk,  and  buffalo,  to  be  slaughtered 
when  we  needed  them. 

Usually  we  hunted  buffalo  on  horseback, 
killing  them  with  arrows  and  spears.  Their 
skins  were  used  to  make  tepees  and  bedding ; 
their  flesh,  to  eat. 

It  required  more  skill  to  hunt  the  deer 
than  any  other  animal.  We  never  tried  to 
approach  a  deer  except  against  the  wind. 
Frequently  we  would  spend  hours  in  steal- 
ing upon  grazing  deer.  If  they  were  in  the 
open  we  would  crawl  long  distances  on  the 
ground,  keeping  a  weed  or  brush  before  us, 
so  that  our  approach  would  not  be  noticed. 
Often  we  could  kill  several  out  of  one  herd 
before  the  others  would  run  away.  Their 
flesh  was  dried  and  packed  in  vessels,  and 

would   keep   in   this    condition    for  many 

si 


GERONIMO 

months.  The  hide  of  the  deer  was  soaked  in 
water  and  ashes  and  the  hair  removed,  and 
then  the  process  of  tanning  continued  until 
the  buckskin  was  soft  and  pliable.  Perhaps 
no  other  animal  was  more  valuable  to  us  than 
the  deer. 

In  the  forests  and  along  the  streams  were 
many  wild  turkeys.  These  we  would  drive 
to  the  plains,  then  slowly  ride  up  toward 
them  until  they  were  almost  tired  out. 
When  they  began  to  drop  and  hide  we  would 
ride  in  upon  them  and  by  swinging  from  the 
side  of  our  horses,  catch  them.  If  one 
started  to  fly  we  would  ride  swiftly  under 
him  and  kill  him  with  a  short  stick,  or  hunt- 
ing club.  In  this  way  we  could  usually  get 
as  many  wild  turkeys  as  we  could  carry  home 
on  a  horse. 

There  were  many  rabbits  in  our  range, 
and  we  also  hunted  them  on  horseback.  Our 
horses  were  trained  to  follow  the  rabbit  at 
full  speed,  and  as  they  approached  them  we 
would  swing  from  one  side  of  the  horse  and 

32 


TRIBAL   CUSTOMS 

strike  the  rabbit  with  our  hunting  club.  If 
he  was  too  far  away  we  would  throw  the 
stick  and  kill  him.  This  was  great  sport  when 
we  were  boys,  but  as  warriors  we  seldom 
hunted  small  game. 

There  were  many  fish  in  the  streams,  but 
as  we  did  not  eat  them,  we  did  not  try  to 
catch  or  kill  them.  Small  boys  sometimes 
threw  stones  at  them  or  shot  at  them  for 
practice  with  their  bows  and  arrows.  Usen 
did  not  intend  snakes,  frogs,  or  fishes  to  be 
eaten.    I  have  never  eaten  of  them. 

There  were  many  eagles  in  the  mountains. 
These  we  hunted  for  their  feathers.  It  re- 
quired great  skill  to  steal  upon  an  eagle,  for 
besides  having  sharp  eyes,  he  is  wise  and 
never  stops  at  any  place  where  he  does  not 
have  a  good  view  of  the  surrounding 
country. 

I  have  killed  many  bears  with  a  spear,  but 
was  never  injured  in  a  fight  with  one.  I 
have  killed  several  mountain  lions  with  ar- 
rows, and  one  with  a  spear.    Both  bears  and 

33 


GERONIMO 

mountain  lions  are  good  for  food  and  valu- 
able for  their  skin.  When  we  killed  them 
we  carried  them  home  on  our  horses.  We 
often  made  quivers  for  our  arrows  from  the 
skin  of  the  mountain  lion.  These  were  very 
pretty  and  very  durable. 

During  my  minority  we  had  never  seen  a 
missionary  or  a  priest.  We  had  never 
seen  a  white  man.  Thus  quietly  lived  the 
Be-don-ko-he  Apaches. 


S4 


CHAPTER  V 

THE    FAMILY 

MY  grandfather,  Maco,  had  heen  our 
chief.  I  never  saw  him,  but  my 
father  often  told  me  of  the  great  size, 
strength,  and  sagacity  of  this  old  warrior. 
Their  principal  wars  had  been  with  the  Mex- 
icans. They  had  some  wars  with  other  tribes 
of  Indians  also,  but  were  seldom  at  peace 
for  any  great  length  of  time  with  the  Mex- 
ican towns. 

Maco  died  when  my  father  was  but  a 
young  warrior,  and  Mangus-Colorado  *  be- 
came   chief   of   the    Bedonkohe    Apaches. 

l  Maco  was  chief  of  the  Nedni  Apaches.  His  son  (Geron- 
imo's  father)  had  married  a  Bedonkohe  Apache  (Geron- 
imo's  mother)  and  joined  her  tribe,  thereby  losing  his 
right  to  rule  by  heredity.  By  this  it  will  be  seen  Geronimo 
could  not  become  chief  by  hereditary  right,  although  his 
grandfather  was  a  chieftain.  It  is  also  shown  that  Geron- 
lmo's  father  could  not  be  chief,  hence  the  accession  of 
Mangus-Colorado. 

35 


GERONIMO 

When  I  was  but  a  small  boy  my  father  died, 
after  having  been  sick  for  some  time.  When 
he  passed  away,  carefully  the  watchers  closed 
his  eyes,  then  they  arrayed  him  in  his  best 
clothes,  painted  his  face  afresh,  wrapped  a 
rich  blanket  around  him,  saddled  his  favor- 
ite horse,  bore  his  arms  in  front  of  him,  and 
led  his  horse  behind,  repeating  in  wailing 
tones  his  deeds  of  valor  as  they  carried  his 
body  to  a  cave  in  the  mountain.  Then  they 
slew  his  horses,  and  we  gave  away  all  of  his 
other  property,2  as  was  customary  in  our 
tribe,  after  which  his  body  was  deposited  in 
the  cave,  his  arms  beside  him.  His  grave  is 
hidden  by  piles  of  stone.  Wrapped  in  splen- 
dor he  lies  in  seclusion,  and  the  winds  in  the 
pines  sing  a  low  requiem  over  the  dead 
warrior. 

After  my  father's  death  I  assumed  the 

2  The  Apaches  will  not  keep  any  of  the  property  of  a 
deceased  relative.  Their  unwritten  tribal  laws  forbid  it, 
because  they  think  that  otherwise  the  children  or  other 
relatives  of  one  who  had  much  property  might  be  glad 
when  their  father  or  relatives  died. 

36 


THE   FAMILY 

care  of  my  mother.  She  never  married 
again,  although  according  to  the  customs  of 
our  tribe  she  might  have  done  so  immedi- 
ately after  his  death.  Usually,  however,  the 
widow  who  has  children  remains  single  after 
her  husband's  death  for  two  or  three  years ; 
but  the  widow  without  children  marries  again 
immediately.  After  a  warrior's  death  his 
widow  returns  to  her  people  and  may  be 
given  away  or  sold  by  her  father  or  brothers. 
My  mother  chose  to  live  with  me,  and  she 
never  desired  to  marry  again.  We  lived 
near  our  old  home  and  I  supported  her. 

In  1846,  being  seventeen  years  of  age,  I 
was  admitted  to  the  council  of  the  warriors. 
Then  I  was  very  happy,  for  I  could  go 
wherever  I  wanted  and  do  whatever  I  liked. 
I  had  not  been  under  the  control  of  any 
individual,  but  the  customs  of  our  tribe  pro- 
hibited me  from  sharing  the  glories  of  the 
warpath  until  the  council  admitted  me. 
When  opportunity  offered,  after  this,  I 
could  go  on  the  warpath  with  my  tribe.  This 

37 


GERONIMO 

would  be  glorious.  I  hoped  soon  to  serve 
my  people  in  battle.  I  had  long  desired  to 
fight  with  our  warriors. 

Perhaps  the  greatest  joy  to  me  was  that 
now  I  could  marry  the  fair  Alope,  daughter 
of  No-po-so.  She  was  a  slender,  delicate 
girl,  but  we  had  been  lovers  for  a  long  time. 
So,  as  soon  as  the  council  granted  me  these 
privileges  I  went  to  see  her  father  concern- 
ing our  marriage.  Perhaps  our  love  was  of 
no  interest  to  him;  perhaps  he  wanted  to 
keep  Alope  with  him,  for  she  was  a  dutiful 
daughter;  at  any  rate  he  asked  many  ponies 
for  her.  I  made  no  reply,  but  in  a  few  days 
appeared  before  his  wigwam  with  the  herd 
of  ponies  and  took  with  me  Alope.  This 
was  all  the  marriage  ceremony  necessary  in 
our  tribe. 

Not  far  from  my  mother's  tepee  I  had 
made  for  us  a  new  home.  The  tepee  was 
made  of  buffalo  hides  and  in  it  were  many 
bear  robes,  lion  hides,  and  other  trophies  of 
the  chase,  as  well  as  my  spears,  bows,  and 

38 


I 


Al'U   III         l'lllM   I  ■ 

Daughter  of  Naiche,  chief  of  the  Chiricahua  Apaches 


THE   FAMILY 

arrows.  Alope  had  made  many  little  deco- 
rations of  beads 3  and  drawn  work  on  buck- 
skin, which  she  placed  in  our  tepee.  She  also 
drew  many  pictures  on  the  walls  of  our 
home.  She  was  a  good  wife,  but  she  was 
never  strong.  We  followed  the  traditions 
of  our  fathers  and  were  happy.  Three  chil- 
dren came  to  us — children  that  played,  loi- 
tered, and  worked  as  I  had  done. 

3  Beads  were  obtained  from  the  Mexicans.  The  Apaches 
also  got  money  from  the  Mexicans,  but  deemed  it  of  no 
value,  and  either  gave  it  to  their  children  to  play  with  or 
threw  it  away. 


39 


PART   II 


THE   MEXICANS 


CHAPTER  VI 

KAS-KI-YEH 

Part  I — The  Massacre 

IN  the  summer  of  1858,  being  at  peace 
with  the  Mexican  towns  as  well  as  with 
all  the  neighboring  Indian  tribes,  we  went 
south  into  Old  Mexico  to  trade.  Our  whole 
tribe  (Bedonkohe  Apaches)  went  through 
Sonora  toward  Casa  Grande,  our  destina- 
tion, but  just  before  reaching  that  place  we 
stopped  at  another  Mexican  town  called  by 
the  Indians  "  Kas-ki-yeh."  Here  we  stayed 
for  several  days,  camping  just  outside  the 
city.  Every  day  we  would  go  into  town  to 
trade,  leaving  our  camp  under  the  protec- 
tion of  a  small  guard  so  that  our  arms,  sup- 
plies, and  women  and  children  would  not  be 
disturbed  during  our  absence. 

Late  one  afternoon  when  returning  from 
town  we  were  met  by  a  few  women  and  chil- 
dren who  told  us  that  Mexican  troops  from 

43 


GERONIMO 

some  other  town  had  attacked  our  camp, 
killed  all  the  warriors  of  the  guard,  captured 
all  our  ponies,  secured  our  arms,  destroyed 
our  supplies,  and  killed  many  of  our  women 
and  children.  Quickly  we  separated,  con- 
cealing ourselves  as  best  we  could  until 
nightfall,  when  we  assembled  at  our  ap- 
pointed place  of  rendezvous — a  thicket  by 
the  river.  Silently  we  stole  in  one  by  one: 
sentinels  were  placed,  and,  when  all  were 
counted,  I  found  that  my  aged  mother,  my 
young  wife,  and  my  three  small  children 
were  among  the  slain.  There  were  no  lights 
in  camp,  so  without  being  noticed  I  silently 
turned  away  and  stood  by  the  river.  How 
long  I  stood  there  I  do  not  know,  but  when 
I  saw  the  warriors  arranging  for  a  council 
I  took  my  place. 

That  night  I  did  not  give  my  vote  for  or 
against  any  measure ;  but  it  was  decided  that 
as  there  were  only  eighty  warriors  left,  and 
as  we  were  without  arms  or  supplies,  and 
were  furthermore  surrounded  by  the  Mex- 

44 


KAS-KI-YEH 

icans  far  inside  their  own  territory,  we  could 
not  hope  to  fight  successfully.  So  our  chief, 
Mangus- Colorado,  gave  the  order  to  start  at 
once  in  perfect  silence  for  our  homes  in  Ari- 
zona, leaving  the  dead  upon  the  field. 

I  stood  until  all  had  passed,  hardly  know- 
ing what  I  would  do — I  had  no  weapon,  nor 
did  I  hardly  wish  to  fight,  neither  did  I  con- 
template recovering  the  bodies  of  my  loved 
ones,  for  that  was  forbidden.  I  did  not 
pray,  nor  did  I  resolve  to  do  anything  in  par- 
ticular, for  I  had  no  purpose  left.  I  finally 
followed  the  tribe  silently,  keeping  just 
within  hearing  distance  of  the  soft  noise  of 
the  feet  of  the  retreating  Apaches. 

The  next  morning  some  of  the  Indians 
killed  a  small  amount  of  game  and  we  halted 
long  enough  for  the  tribe  to  cook  and  eat, 
when  the  march  was  resumed.  I  had  killed 
no  game,  and  did  not  eat.  During  the  first 
march  as  well  as  while  we  were  camped  at 
this  place  I  spoke  to  no  one  and  no  one  spoke 
to  me — there  was  nothing  to  say. 

45 


GERONIMO 

For  two  days  and  three  nights  we  were 
on  forced  marches,  stopping  only  for  meals, 
then  we  made  a  camp  near  the  Mexican  bor- 
der, where  we  rested  two  days.  Here  I  took 
some  food  and  talked  with  the  other  Indians 
who  had  lost  in  the  massacre,  but  none  had 
lost  as  I  had,  for  I  had  lost  all. 

Within  a  few  days  we  arrived  at  our  own 
settlement.  There  were  the  decorations  that 
Alope  had  made — and  there  were  the  play- 
things of  our  little  ones.  I  burned  1  them 
all,  even  our  tepee.  I  also  burned  my  moth- 
er's tepee  and  destroyed  all  her  property. 

I  was  never  again  contented  in  our  quiet 
home.  True,  I  could  visit  my  father's  grave, 
but  I  had  vowed  vengeance  upon  the  Mex- 
ican troopers  who  had  wronged  me,  and 
whenever  I  came  near  his  grave  or  saw  any- 
thing to  remind  me  of  former  happy  days 
my  heart  would  ache  for  revenge  upon 
Mexico. 

i  According  to  custom  he  should  not  have  kept  the  prop- 
erty of  his  deceased  relatives,  but  he  was  not  compelled  to 
destroy  his  own  tepee  or  the  playthings  of  his  children. 

46 


o 

H 

W 

o 

2! 

§ 

O 


> 

n 


a 

o 


O 

N 
O 

w 


lPart  II — Revenge 

As  soon  as  we  had  again  collected  some 
arms  and  supplies  Mangus- Colorado,  our 
chief,  called  a  council  and  found  that  all  our 
warriors  were  willing  to  take  the  warpath 
against  Mexico.  I  was  appointed  to  solicit 
the  aid  of  other  tribes  in  this  war. 

When  I  went  to  the  Chokonen  (Chiri- 
cahua)  Apaches,  Cochise,  their  chief,  called 
a  council  at  early  dawn.  Silently  the  war- 
riors assembled  at  an  open  place  in  a  moun- 
tain dell  and  took  their  seats  on  the  ground, 
arranged  in  rows  according  to  their  ranks. 
Silently  they  sat  smoking.  At  a  signal 
from  the  chief  I  arose  and  presented  my 
cause  as  follows: 

"  Kinsman,  you  have  heard  what  the  Mex- 
icans have  recently  done  without  cause. 
You  are  my  relatives — uncles,  cousins, 
brothers.    We  are  men  the  same  as  the  Mex- 

47 


GERONIMO 

icans  are — we  can  do  to  them  what  they  have 
done  to  us.  Let  us  go  forward  and  trail 
them — I  will  lead  you  to  their  city — we  will 
attack  them  in  their  homes.  I  will  fight  in 
the  front  of  the  battle — I  only  ask  you  to 
follow  me  to  avenge  this  wrong  done  by 
these  Mexicans — will  you  come?  It  is  well 
— you  will  all  come. 

"  Remember  the  rule  in  war — men  may 
return  or  they  may  be  killed.  If  any  of 
these  young  men  are  killed  I  want  no  blame 
from  their  kinsmen,  for  they  themselves 
have  chosen  to  go.  If  I  am  killed  no  one 
need  mourn  for  me.  My  people  have  all 
been  killed  in  that  country,  and  I,  too,  will 
die  if  need  be." 

I  returned  to  my  own  settlement,  reported 
this  success  to  my  chieftain,  and  immediately 
departed  to  the  southward  into  the  land  of 
the  Nedni  Apaches.  Their  chief,  Whoa, 
heard  me  without  comment,  but  he  im- 
mediately issued  orders  for  a  council,  and 
when  all  were  ready  gave  a  sign  that  I 

48 

■-." 


KAS-KI-YEH 

might  speak.  I  addressed  them  as  I  had 
addressed  the  Chokonen  tribe,  and  they  also 
promised  to  help  us. 

It  was  in  the  summer  of  1859,  almost  a 
year  i'rom  the  date  of  the  massacre  of  Kas- 
kiyeh,  that  these  three  tribes  were  assembled 
on  the  Mexican  border  to  go  upon  the  war- 
path. Their  faces  were  painted,  the  war 
bands2  fastened  upon  their  brows,  their 
long  scalp-locks3  ready  for  the  hand  and 
knife  of  the  warrior  who  could  overcome 
them.  Their  families  had  been  hidden  away 
in  a  mountain  rendezvous  near  the  Mexican 
border.  With  these  families  a  guard  was 
posted,  and  a  number  of  places  of  rendez- 
vous designated  in  case  the  camp  should  be 
disturbed. 

When  all  were  ready  the  chieftains  gave 

2  Strips  of  buckskin  about  two  inches  wide  fastened 
around  the  head. 

3  At  this  time  the  Mexican  Government  offered  a  reward 
in  gold  for  Apache  scalps — one  hundred  dollars  for  war- 
rior's scalp,  fifty  dollars  for  squaw's  scalp,  and  twenty-five 
dollars  for  child's  scalp. 

49 


GERONIMO 

command  to  go  forward.  None  of  us  were 
mounted  and  each  warrior  wore  moccasins 
and  also  a  cloth  wrapped  about  his  loins. 
This  cloth  could  be  spread  over  him  when  he 
slept,  and  when  on  the  march  would  be  ample 
protection  as  clothing.  In  battle,  if  the 
fight  was  hard,  we  did  not  wish  much  cloth- 
ing. Each  warrior  carried  three  days'  ra- 
tions, but  as  we  often  killed  game  while  on 
the  march,  we  seldom  were  without  food. 

We  traveled  in  three  divisions :  the  Bedon- 
kohe  Apaches  led  by  Mangus-Colorado,  the 
Chokonen  Apaches  by  Cochise,  and  the 
Nedni  Apaches  by  Whoa;  however,  there 
was  no  regular  order  inside  the  separate 
tribes.  We  usually  marched  about  fourteen 
hours  per  day,  making  three  stops  for  meals, 
and  traveling  forty  to  forty-five  miles  a 
day. 

I  acted  as  guide  into  Mexico,  and  we  fol- 
lowed the  river  courses  and  mountain  ranges 
because  we  could  better  thereby  keep  our 
movements  concealed.    We  entered  Sonora 

50 


2 

> 

— 

n 
8 

rt 

X 

CO 


O 
H 

« 

B 


H 
o 


w 

> 

O 


O 

X 

r 
3 

M 
3 


KAS-KI-YEH 

and  went  southward  past  Quitaco,  Nacozari, 
and  many  smaller  settlements. 

When  we  were  almost  at  Arispe  we 
camped,  and  eight  men  rode  out  from  the 
city  to  parley  with  us.  These  we  captured, 
killed,  and  scalped.  This  was  to  draw  the 
troops  from  the  city,  and  the  next  day  they 
came.  The  skirmishing  lasted  all  day  with- 
out a  general  engagement,  but  just  at  night 
we  captured  their  supply  train,  so  we  had 
plenty  of  provisions  and  some  more  guns. 

That  night  we  posted  sentinels  and  did 
not  move  our  camp,  but  rested  quietly  all 
night,  for  we  expected  heavy  work  the  next 
day.  Early  the  next  morning  the  warriors 
were  assembled  to  pray — not  for  help,  but 
that  they  might  have  health  and  avoid  am- 
bush or  deceptions  by  the  enemy. 

As  we  had  anticipated,  about  ten  o'clock 
in  the  morning  the  whole  Mexican  force 
came  out.  There  were  two  companies  of 
cavalry  and  two  of  infantry.  I  recognized 
the  cavalry  as  the  soldiers  who  had  killed  my 

51 


GERONIMO 

people  at  Kaskiyeh.  This  I  told  to  the 
chieftains,  and  they  said  that  I  might  direct 
the  battle. 

I  was  no  chief  and  never  had  been,  but 
because  I  had  been  more  deeply  wronged 
than  others,  this  honor  was  conferred  upon 
me,  and  I  resolved  to  prove  worthy  of  the 
trust.  I  arranged  the  Indians  in  a  hollow 
circle  near  the  river,  and  the  Mexicans  drew 
their  infantry  up  in  two  lines,  with  the  cav- 
alry in  reserve.  We  were  in  the  timber,  and 
they  advanced  until  within  about  four  hun- 
dred yards,  when  they  halted  and  opened  fire. 
Soon  I  led  a  charge  against  them,  at  the 
same  time  sending  some  braves  to  attack 
their  rear.  In  all  the  battle  I  thought  of  my 
murdered  mother,  wife,  and  babies — of  my 
father's  grave  and  my  vow  of  vengeance, 
and  I  fought  with  fury.  Many  fell  by  my 
hand,  and  constantly  I  led  the  advance. 
Many  braves  were  killed.  The  battle  lasted 
about  two  hours. 

At  the  last  four  Indians  were  alone  in  the 

52 


KAS-KI-YEH 

center  of  the  field — myself  and  three  other 
warriors.  Our  arrows  were  all  gone,  our 
spears  broken  off  in  the  bodies  of  dead  ene- 
mies. We  had  only  our  hands  and  knives 
with  which  to  fight,  but  all  who  had  stood 
against  us  were  dead.  Then  two  armed  sol- 
diers came  upon  us  from  another  part  of 
the  field.  They  shot  down  two  of  our  men 
and  we,  the  remaining  two,  fled  toward  our 
own  warriors.  My  companion  was  struck 
down  by  a  saber,  but  I  reached  our  warriors, 
seized  a  spear,  and  turned.  The  one  who 
pursued  me  missed  his  aim  and  fell  by  my 
spear.  With  his  saber  I  met  the  trooper  who 
had  killed  my  companion  and  we  grappled 
and  fell.  I  killed  him  with  my  knife  and 
quickly  rose  over  his  body,  brandishing  his 
saber,  seeking  for  other  troopers  to  kill. 
There  were  none.  But  the  Apaches  had 
seen.  Over  the  bloody  field,  covered  with 
the  bodies  of  Mexicans,  rang  the  fierce 
Apache  war-whoop. 

Still  covered  with  the  blood  of  my  en- 

53 


u 


GERONIMO 

emies,  still  holding  my  conquering  weapon, 
still  hot  with  the  joy  of  battle,  victory,  and 
vengeance,  I  was  surrounded  by  the  Apache 
braves  and  made  war  chief  of  all  the 
Apaches.  Then  I  gave  orders  for  scalping 
the  slain.4 

I  could  not  call  back  my  loved  ones,  I 
could  not  bring  back  the  dead  Apaches,  but 
I  could  rejoice  in  this  revenge.  The 
Apaches  had  avenged  the  massacre  of 
"  Kas-ki-yeh." 

*  From  the  moment  the  command  for  war  is  given  with 
the  Apaches  everything  assumes  a  religious  guise.  The 
manner  of  camping,  cooking,  etc.,  are  exactly  prescribed. 
Every  object  appertaining  to  war  is  called  by  its  sacred 
name;  as  if,  for  instance,  in  English,  one  should  say  not 
horse,  but  war-horse  or  charger;  not  arrow,  but  missile  of 
death.  The  Indian  is  not  called  by  his  ordinary  name,  but 
by  a  sacred  name  to  which  is  subjoined  "brave"  or  "chief* 
as  the  case  may  be.  Geronimo's  Indian  name  was  Go  khla 
yeh,  but  the  Mexicans  at  this  battle  called  him  Geronimo, 
a  name  he  has  borne  ever  since  both  among  the  Indians  and 
white  men. 


54 


CHAPTER   VII 

FIGHTING  UNDER  DIFFICULTIES 

ALL  the  other  Apaches  were  satisfied 
L  after  the  battle  of  "  Kaskiyeh,"  but  I 
still  desired  more  revenge.  For  several 
months  we  were  busy  with  the  chase  and 
other  peaceful  pursuits.  Finally  I  suc- 
ceeded in  persuading  two  others  warriors, 
Ah-koch-ne  and  Ko-deh-ne,  to  go  with  me 
to  invade  the  Mexican  country. 

We  left  our 1  families  with  the  tribe  and 
went  on  the  warpath.  We  were  on  foot  and 
carried  three  days'  rations.  We  entered 
Mexico  on  the  north  line  of  Sonora  and  fol- 
lowed the  Sierra  de  Antunez  Mountains  to 
the  south  end  of  the  range.  Here  we  de- 
cided to  attack  a  small  village.  (I  do  not 
know  the  name  of  this  village.)  At  day- 
light we  approached  from  the  mountains. 

i  Geronimo  had  married  again. 
55 


GERONIMO 

Five  horses  were  hitched  outside.  We  ad- 
vanced cautiously,  but  just  before  we 
reached  the  horses  the  Mexicans  opened  fire 
from  the  houses.  My  two  companions  were 
killed.  Mexicans  swarmed  on  every  side; 
some  were  mounted ;  some  were  on  foot,  and 
all  seemed  to  be  armed.  Three  times  that 
day  I  was  surrounded,  but  I  kept  fighting, 
dodging,  and  hiding.  Several  times  during 
the  day  while  in  concealment  I  had  a  chance 
to  take  deliberate  aim  at  some  Mexican,  who, 
gun  in  hand,  was  looking  for  me.  I  do  not 
think  I  missed  my  aim  either  time.  With 
the  gathering  darkness  I  found  more  time 
to  retreat  toward  Arizona.  But  the  Mex- 
icans did  not  quit  the  chase.  Several  times 
the  next  day  mounted  Mexicans  tried  to 
head  me  off;  many  times  they  fired  on  me, 
but  I  had  no  more  arrows;  so  I  depended 
upon  running  and  hiding,  although  I  was 
very  tired.  I  had  not  eaten  since  the  chase 
began,  nor  had  I  dared  to  stop  for  rest.  The 
second  night  I  got  clear  of  my  pursuers,  but 

56 


UNDER   DIFFICULTIES 

I  never  slackened  my  pace  until  I  reached 
our  home  in  Arizona.  I  came  into  our  camp 
without  booty,  without  my  companions,  ex- 
hausted, but  not  discouraged. 

The  wives  and  children  of  my  two  dead 
companions  were  cared  for  by  their  people. 
Some  of  the  Apaches  blamed  me  for  the  evil 
result  of  the  expedition,  but  I  said  nothing. 
Having  failed,  it  was  only  proper  that  I 
should  remain  silent.  But  my  feelings  to- 
ward the  Mexicans  did  not  change — I  still 
hated  them  and  longed  for  revenge.  I  never 
ceased  to  plan  for  their  punishment,  but  it 
was  hard  to  get  the  other  warriors  to  listen 
to  my  proposed  raids. 

In  a  few  months  after  this  last  adventure 
I  persuaded  two  other  warriors  to  join  me  in 
raiding  the  Mexican  frontier.  On  our  for- 
mer raid  we  had  gone  through  the  Nedni 
Apaches'  range  into  Sonora.  This  time  we 
went  through  the  country  of  the  Cho- 
kon-en  and  entered  the  Sierra  Madre 
Mountains.      We   traveled   south,    secured 

57 


GERONIMO 

more  rations,  and  prepared  to  begin  our 
raids.  We  had  selected  a  village  near  the 
mountains  which  we  intended  to  attack  at 
daylight.  While  asleep  that  night  Mexican 
scouts  discovered  our  camp  and  fired  on  us, 
killing  one  warrior.  In  the  morning  we  ob- 
served a  company  of  Mexican  troops  com- 
ing from  the  south.  They  were  mounted 
and  carried  supplies  for  a  long  journey. 
We  followed  their  trail  until  we  were  sure 
that  they  were  headed  for  our  range  in  Ari- 
zona; then  we  hurried  past  them  and  in 
three  days  reached  our  own  settlement. 
We  arrived  at  noon,  and  that  afternoon, 
about  three  o'clock,  these  Mexican  troops 
attacked  our  settlement.  Their  first  volley 
killed  three  small  boys.  Many  of  the  war- 
riors of  our  tribe  were  away  from  home,  but 
the  few  of  us  who  were  in  camp  were  able 
to  drive  the  troops  out  of  the  mountains  be- 
fore night.  We  killed  eight  Mexicans  and 
lost  five — two  warriors  and  three  boys.  The 
Mexicans  rode   due  south  in   full  retreat. 

58 


UNDER   DIFFICULTIES 

Four  warriors  were  detailed  to  follow  them, 
and  in  three  days  these  trailers  returned,  say- 
ing that  the  Mexican  cavalry  had  left  Ari- 
zona, going  southward.  We  were  quite  sure 
they  would  not  return  soon. 

Soon  after  this  (in  the  summer  of  1860) 
I  was  again  able  to  take  the  warpath  against 
the  Mexicans,  this  time  with  twenty-five 
warriors.  We  followed  the  trail  of  the 
Mexican  troops  last  mentioned  and  entered 
the  Sierra  de  Sahuaripa  Mountains.  The 
second  day  in  these  mountains  our  scouts 
discovered  mounted  Mexican  troops.  There 
was  only  one  company  of  cavalry  in  this 
command,  and  I  thought  that  by  properly 
surprising  them  we  could  defeat  them.  We 
ambushed  the  trail  over  which  they  were  to 
come.  This  was  at  a  place  where  the  whole 
company  must  pass  through  a  mountain  de- 
file. We  reserved  fire  until  all  of  the  troops 
had  passed  through;  then  the  signal  was 
given.  The  Mexican  troopers,  seemingly 
without  a  word  of  command,  dismounted, 

59 


GERONIMO 

and  placing  their  horses  on  the  outside  of 
the  company,  for  breastworks,  made  a  good 
fight  against  us.  I  saw  that  we  could  not 
dislodge  them  without  using  all  our  ammuni- 
tion, so  I  led  a  charge.  The  warriors  sud- 
denly pressed  in  from  all  sides  and  we 
fought  hand  to  hand.  During  this  encoun- 
ter I  raised  my  spear  to  kill  a  Mexican  sol- 
dier just  as  he  leveled  his  gun  at  me;  I  was 
advancing  rapidly,  and  my  foot  slipping  in 
a  pool  of  blood,  I  fell  under  the  Mexican 
trooper.  He  struck  me  over  the  head  with 
the  butt  of  his  gun,  knocking  me  senseless. 
Just  at  that  instant  a  warrior  who  followed 
in  my  footsteps  killed  the  Mexican  with  a 
spear.  In  a  few  minutes  not  a  Mexican 
soldier  was  left  alive.  When  the  Apache 
war-cry  had  died  away,  and  their  enemies 
had  been  scalped,  they  began  to  care  for 
their  dead  and  wounded.  I  was  found  lying 
unconscious  where  I  had  fallen.  They 
bathed  my  head  in  cold  water  and  restored 

me  to  consciousness.     Then  they  bound  up 

60 


UNDER   DIFFICULTIES 

my  wound  and  the  next  morning,  although 
weak  from  loss  of  blood  and  suffering  from 
a  severe  headache,  I  was  able  to  march  on 
the  return  to  Arizona.  I  did  not  fully  re- 
cover for  months,  and  I  still  wear  the  scar 
given  me  by  that  musketeer.  In  this  fight 
we  had  lost  so  heavily  that  there  really  was 
no  glory  in  our  victory,  and  we  returned  to 
Arizona.  No  one  seemed  to  want  to  go  on 
the  warpath  again  that  year. 

In  the  summer  (1861)  with  twelve  war- 
riors I  again  went  into  Mexico.  We  entered 
Chihuahua  and  followed  south  on  the  east 
side  of  the  Sierra  Madre  Mountains  four 
days'  journey ;  then  crossed  over  to  the  Sierra 
de  Sahuaripa  range,  not  far  east  of  Casa 
Grande.  Here  we  rested  one  day,  and  sent 
out  scouts  to  reconnoiter.  They  reported 
pack  trains  camped  five  miles  west  of  us. 
The  next  morning  just  at  daybreak,  as  these 
drivers  were  starting  with  their  mule  pack 
train,  we  attacked  them.  They  rode  away 
for  their  lives,  leaving  us  the  booty.     The 

61 


GERONIMO 

mules  were  loaded  with  provisions,  most  of 
which  we  took  home.  Two  mules  were 
loaded  with  side-meat  or  bacon;2  this  we 
threw  away.  We  started  to  take  these  pack 
trains  home,  going  northward  through  So- 
nora,  but  when  near  Casita,  Mexican  troops 
overtook  us.  It  was  at  daybreak  and  we 
were  just  finishing  our  breakfast.  We  had 
no  idea  that  we  had  been  pursued  or  that  our 
enemies  were  near  until  they  opened  fire. 
At  the  first  volley  a  bullet  struck  me  a  glanc- 
ing lick  just  at  the  lower  corner  of  the  left 
eye  and  I  fell  unconscious.  All  the  other 
Indians  fled  to  cover.  The  Mexicans,  think- 
ing me  dead,  started  in  pursuit  of  the  fleeing 
Indians.  In  a  few  moments  I  regained  con- 
sciousness and  had  started  at  full  speed  for 
the  woods  when  another  company  coming 
up  opened  fire  on  me.  Then  the  soldiers 
who   had   been   chasing  the   other  Indians 

2  They  had  never  eaten  bacon  and  did  not  learn  to  do  so 
for  a  long  time.  Even  now  they  will  not  eat  bacon  or 
pork  if  they  can  get  other  meat.  Geronimo  positively  re- 
fuses to  eat  bacon  or  pork. 

62 


I  UNDER   DIFFICULTIES 

turned,  and  I  stood  between  two  hostile  com- 
panies, but  I  did  not  stand  long.  Bullets 
whistled  in  every  direction  and  at  close  range 
to  me.  One  inflicted  a  slight  flesh  wound 
on  my  side,  but  I  kept  running,  dodging, 
and  fighting,  until  I  got  clear  of  my  pur- 
suers. I  climbed  up  a  steep  canon,  where  the 
cavalry  could  not  follow.  The  troopers  saw 
me,  but  did  not  dismount  and  try  to  follow. 
I  think  they  were  wise  not  to  come  on. 

It  had  been  understood  that  in  case  of  sur- 
prise with  this  booty,  our  place  of  rendez- 
vous should  be  the  Santa  Bita  Mountains  in 
Arizona.  We  did  not  reassemble  in  Mexico, 
but  traveled  separately  and  in  three  days  we 
were  encamped  in  our  place  of  rendezvous. 
From  this  place  we  returned  home  empty- 
handed.  We  had  not  even  a  partial  victory 
to  report.  I  again  returned  wounded,  but 
I  was  not  yet  discouraged.  Again  I  was 
blamed  by  our  people,  and  again  I  had  no 
reply. 

After  our  return  many  of  the  warriors 

63 


GERONIMO 

had  gone  on  a  hunt  and  some  of  them  had 
gone  north  to  trade  for  blankets  from  the 
Navajo  Indians.  I  remained  at  home  try- 
ing to  get  my  wounds  healed.  One  morning 
just  at  daybreak,  when  the  squaws  were 
lighting  the  camp  fires  to  prepare  breakfast, 
three  companies  of  Mexican  troops  who  had 
surrounded  our  settlement  in  the  night 
opened  fire.  There  was  no  time  for  fighting. 
Men,  women,  and  children  fled  for  their 
lives.  Many  women  and  children  and  a  few 
warriors  were  killed,  and  four  women  were 
captured.  My  left  eye  was  still  swollen 
shut,  but  with  the  other  I  saw  well  enough 
to  hit  one  of  the  officers  with  an  arrow,  and 
then  make  good  my  escape  among  the  rocks. 
The  troopers  burned  our  tepees  and  took 
our  arms,  provisions,  ponies,  and  blankets. 
Winter  was  at  hand. 

There  were  not  more  than  twenty  warriors 
in  camp  at  this  time,  and  only  a  few  of  us 
had  secured  weapons  during  the  excitement 
of  the  attack.    A  few  warriors  followed  the 

64 


UNDER   DIFFICULTIES 

trail  of  the  troops  as  they  went  back  to  Mex- 
ico with  their  booty,  but  were  unable  to  offer 
battle.  It  was  a  long,  long  time  before  we 
were  again  able  to  go  on  the  warpath  against 
the  Mexicans. 

The  four  women  who  were  captured  at 
this  time  by  the  Mexicans  were  taken  into 
Sonora,  Mexico,  where  they  were  compelled 
to  work  for  the  Mexicans.  After  some 
years  they  escaped  to  the  mountains  and 
started  to  find  our  tribe.  They  had  knives 
which  they  had  stolen  from  the  Mexicans, 
but  they  had  no  other  weapons.  They  had 
no  blankets ;  so  at  night  they  would  make  a 
little  tepee  by  cutting  brush  with  their 
knives,  and  setting  them  up  for  the  walls. 
The  top  was  covered  over  with  brush.  In 
this  temporary  tepee  they  would  all  sleep. 
One  night  when  their  camp  fire  was  low  they 
heard  growling  just  outside  the  tepee. 
Francisco,  the  youngest  woman  of  the 
party  (about  seventeen  years  of  age), 
started  to  build  up  the  fire,  when  a  moun- 

65 


GERONIMO 

tain  lion  crashed  through  the  tepee  and  at- 
tacked her.  The  suddenness  of  the  attack 
made  her  drop  her  knife,  but  she  fought  as 
best  she  could  with  her  hand.  She  was  no 
match  for  the  lion,  however;  her  left  shoul- 
der was  crushed  and  partly  torn  away.  The 
lion  kept  trying  to  catch  her  by  the  throat; 
this  she  prevented  with  her  hands  for  a  long 
time.  He  dragged  her  for  about  300  yards, 
then  she  found  her  strength  was  failing  her 
from  loss  of  blood,  and  she  called  to  the 
other  women  for  help.  The  lion  had  been 
dragging  her  by  one  foot,  and  she  had  been 
catching  hold  of  his  legs,  and  of  the  rocks 
and  underbrush,  to  delay  him.  Finally  he 
stopped  and  stood  over  her.  She  again 
called  her  companions  and  they  attacked 
him  with  their  knives  and  killed  him.  Then 
they  dressed  her  wounds  and  nursed  her  in 
the  mountains  for  about  a  month.  When 
she  was  again  able  to  walk  they  resumed 
their  journey  and  reached  our  tribe  in 
safety. 

6G 


.     t    -  >■ 

«     ■ 


Asa  Deklugie,  Wife  and  Children 


UNDER   DIFFICULTIES 

This  woman  (Francisco)  was  held  as  a 
prisoner  of  war  with  the  other  Apaches  and 
died  on  the  Fort  Sill  Reservation  in  1892. 
Her  face  was  always  disfigured  with  those 
scars  and  she  never  regained  perfect  use  of 
her  hands.  The  three  older  women  died  be- 
fore we  became  prisoners  of  war. 

Many  women  and  children  were  carried 
away  at  different  times  by  Mexicans.  Not 
many  of  them  ever  returned,  and  those  who 
did  underwent  many  hardships  in  order  to 
be  again  united  with  their  people.  Those 
who  did  not  escape  were  slaves  to  the  Mex- 
icans, or  perhaps  even  more  degraded. 

When  warriors  were  captured  by  the 
Mexicans  they  were  kept  in  chains.  Four 
warriors  who  were  captured  once  at  a  place 
north  of  Casa  Grande,  called  by  the  Indians 
"Honas,"  were  kept  in  chains  for  a  year 
and  a  half,  when  they  were  exchanged  for 
Mexicans  whom  we  had  captured. 

We  never  chained  prisoners  or  kept  them 
in  confinement,  but  they  seldom  got  away. 

67 


GERONIMO 

Mexican  men  when  captured  were  compelled 
to  cut  wood  and  herd  horses.  Mexican 
women  and  children3  were  treated  as  our 
own  people. 

s  The  interpreter,  Asa,  son  of  Whoa,  remembers  a  little 
captive  Mexican  girl  who  used  to  play  with  the  Apache 
children,  but  was  finally  exchanged. 

One  of  Geronimo's  wives  and  her  child  were  killed  at  this 
time,  and  thenceforth  until  he  became  a  prisoner  of  war  he 
had  two  wives.  He  might  have  had  as  many  wives  as  he 
wished,  but  he  says  that  he  was  so  busy  fighting  Mexicans 
that  he  could  not  support  more  than  two. 


68 


VIII 

KAIDS  THAT  WERE  SUCCESSFUL 

IN  the  summer  of  1862  I  took  eight 
men  and  invaded  Mexican  territory. 
We  went  south  on  the  west  side  of  the  Sierra 
Madre  Mountains  for  five  days ;  then  in  the 
night  crossed  over  to  the  southern  part  of 
the  Sierra  de  Sahuaripa  range.  Here  we 
again  camped  to  watch  for  pack  trains. 
About  ten  o'clock  next  morning  four  driv- 
ers, mounted,  came  past  our  camp  with  a 
pack-mule  train.  As  soon  as  they  saw  us 
they  rode  for  their  lives,  leaving  us  the  booty. 
This  was  a  long  train,  and  packed  with 
blankets,  calico,  saddles,  tinware,  and  loaf 
sugar.  We  hurried  home  as  fast  as  we 
could  with  these  provisions,  and  on  our  re- 
turn while  passing  through  a  canon  in  the 
Santa  Catilina  range  of  mountains  in  Ari- 
zona, met  a  white  man  driving  a  mule  pack 

69 


f 


GERONIMO 

train.  When  we  first  saw  him  he  had  al- 
ready seen  us,  and  was  riding  at  full  tilt  up 
the  canon.  We  examined  his  train  and 
found  that  his  mules  were  all  loaded  with 
cheese.  We  put  them  in  with  the  other  train 
and  resumed  our  journey.  We  did  not  at- 
tempt to  trail  the  driver  and  I  am  sure  he 
did  not  try  to  follow  us. 

In  two  days  we  arrived  at  home.  Then 
Mangus-Colorado,  our  chief,  assembled  the 
tribe.  We  gave  a  feast,  divided  the  spoils, 
and  danced  all  night.  Some  of  the  pack 
mules  were  killed  and  eaten. 

This  time  after  our  return  we  kept  out 
scouts  so  that  we  would  know  if  Mexican 
troops  should  attempt  to  follow  us. 

On  the  third  day  our  scouts  came  into  camp 
and  reported  Mexican  cavalry  dismounted 
and  approaching  our  settlement.  All  our 
warriors  were  in  camp.  Mangus-Colorado 
took  command  of  one  division  and  I  of  the 
other.  We  hoped  to  get  possession  of  their 
horses,    then    surround   the   troops    in   the 

70 


•;;'< 


r 
r 
w 
3 


i 

02 


O 

w 


O 

o 

o 

o 


c 


w 


w 


o: 


o 


w 
o 

O 
G 


0 

ft 

w 

hi 

(-5 

H 

o 

p 

a 

0 

m 

r 

O 

a 

> 

SUCCESSFUL   RAIDS 

mountains,  and  destroy  the  whole  company. 
This  we  were  unable  to  do,  for  they,  too,  had 
scouts.  However,  within  four  hours  after 
we  started  we  had  killed  ten  troopers  with 
the  loss  of  only  one  man,  and  the  Mexican 
cavalry  was  in  full  retreat,  followed  by 
thirty  armed  Apaches,  who  gave  them  no 
rest  until  they  were  far  inside  the  Mexi- 
can country.  No  more  troops  came  that 
winter. 

For  a  long  time  we  had  plenty  of  provi- 
sions, plenty  of  blankets,  and  plenty  of 
clothing.  We  also  had  plenty  of  cheese  and 
sugar. 

Another  summer  (1863)  I  selected  three 
warriors  and  went  on  a  raid  into  Mexico. 
We  went  south  into  Sonora,  camping  in  the 
Sierra  de  Sahuaripa  Mountains.  About 
forty  miles  west  of  Casa  Grande  is  a  small 
village  in  the  mountains,  called  by  the  In- 
dians "  Crassanas."  We  camped  near  this 
place  and  concluded  to  make  an  attack.  We 
had   noticed  that  just   at   midday  no  one 

71 


GERONIMO 

seemed  to  be  stirring;  so  we  planned  to  make 
our  attack  at  the  noon  hour.  The  next  day 
we  stole  into  the  town  at  noon.  We  had  no 
guns,  but  were  armed  with  spears  and  bows 
and  arrows.  When  the  war-whoop  was 
given  to  open  the  attack  the  Mexicans  fled 
in  every  direction;  not  one  of  them  made 
any  attempt  to  fight  us. 

We  shot  some  arrows  at  the  retreating 
Mexicans,  but  killed  only  one.  Soon  all  was 
silent  in  the  town  and  no  Mexicans  could  be 
seen. 

When  we  discovered  that  all  the  Mexicans 
were  gone  we  looked  through  their  houses 
and  saw  many  curious  things.  These  Mex- 
icans kept  many  more  kinds  of  property 
than  the  Apaches  did.  Many  of  the  things 
we  saw  in  the  houses  we  could  not  under- 
stand, but  in  the  stores  we  saw  much  that  we 
wanted ;  so  we  drove  in  a  herd  of  horses  and 
mules,  and  packed  as  much  provisions  and 
supplies  as  we  could  on  them.  Then  we 
formed  these  animals  into  a  pack  train  and 

72 


f  SUCCESSFUL   RAIDS 

returned  safely  to  Arizona.    The  Mexicans 
did  not  even  trail  us. 

When  we  arrived  in  camp  we  called  the 
tribe  together  and  feasted  all  day.  We  gave 
presents  to  everyone.  That  night  the  dance 
began,  and  it  did  not  cease  until  noon  the 
next  day. 

This  was  perhaps  the  most  successful  raid 
ever  made  by  us  into  Mexican  territory.  I 
do  not  know  the  value  of  the  booty,  but  it 
was  very  great,  for  we  had  supplies  enough 
to  last  our  whole  tribe  for  a  year  or  more. 

In  the  fall  of  1864  twenty  warriors  were     V 

willing  to  go  with  me  on  another  raid  into 

Mexico.     These  were  all  chosen  men,  well 

-armed  and  equipped  for  battle.     As  usual 

we  provided  for  the  safety  of  our  families 

before  starting  on  this  raid.    Our  whole  tribe 

scattered  and  then  reassembled  at  a  camp 

about  forty  miles  from  the  former  place.    In 

this  way  it  would  be  hard  for  the  Mexicans  to 

trail  them  and  we  would  know  where  to  find 

our  families  when  we  returned.    Moreover, 

73 


GERONIMO 

if  any  hostile  Indians  should  see  this  large 
number  of  warriors  leaving  our  range  they 
might  attack  our  camp,  but  if  they  found 
no  one  at  the  usual  place  their  raid  would 
fail. 

We  went  south  through  the  Chokonen 
Apaches'  range,  entered  Sonora,  Mexico,  at 
a  point  directly  south  of  Tombstone,  Ari- 
zona, and  went  into  hiding  in  the  Sierra  de 
Antunez  Mountains. 

We  attacked  several  settlements  in  the 
neighborhood  and  secured  plenty  of  provi- 
sions and  supplies.  After  about  three  days 
we  attacked  and  captured  a  mule  pack  train 
at  a  place  called  by  the  Indians  "  Pontoco." 
It  is  situated  in  the  mountains  due  west, 
about  one  day's  journey  '  from  Arispe. 

There  were  three  drivers  with  this  train. 
One  was  killed  and  two  escaped.  The  train 
was  loaded  with  mescal,2  which  was  con- 

i  Forty-five  miles. 

2  Mescal  is  a  fiery  liquor  produced  in  Mexico  from  several 
spices  of  Agave. 

74 


SUCCESSFUL    RAIDS 

tained  in  bottles  held  in  wicker  baskets.  As 
soon  as  we  made  camp  the  Indians  began  to 
get  drunk  and  fight  each  other.  I,  too, 
drank  enough  mescal  to  feel  the  effect  of  it, 
but  I  was  not  drunk.  I  ordered  the  fight- 
ing stopped,  but  the  order  was  disobeyed. 
Soon  almost  a  general  fight  was  in  progress. 
I  tried  to  place  a  guard  out  around  our 
camp,  but  all  were  drunk  and  refused  to 
serve.  I  expected  an  attack  from  Mexican 
troops  at  any  moment,  and  really  it  was  a 
serious  matter  for  me,  for  being  in  command 
I  would  be  held  responsible  for  any  ill  luck 
attending  the  expedition.  Finally  the 
camp  became  comparatively  still,  for  the  In- 
dians were  too  drunk  to  walk  or  even  to 
fight.  While  they  were  in  this  stupor  I 
poured  out  all  the  mescal,  then  I  put  out  all 
the  fires  and  moved  the  pack  mules  to  a  con- 
siderable distance  from  camp.  After  this 
I  returned  to  camp  to  try  to  do  something 
for  the  wounded.  I  found  that  only  two 
Mrere  dangerously  wounded.     From  the  leg 

75 


GERONIMO 

of  one  of  these  I  cut  an  arrow  head,  and 
from  the  shoulder  of  another  I  withdrew  a 
spear  point.  When  all  the  wounds  had  been 
cared  for,  I  myself  kept  guard  till  morning. 
The  next  day  we  loaded  our  wounded  on  the 
pack  mules  and  started  for  Arizona. 

The  next  day  we  captured  come  cattle 
from  a  herd  and  drove  them  home  with  us. 
But  it  was  a  very  difficult  matter  to  drive 
cattle  when  we  were  on  foot.  Caring  for 
the  wounded  and  keeping  the  cattle  from 
escaping  made  our  journey  tedious.  But 
we  were  not  trailed,  and  arrived  safely  at 
home  with  all  the  booty. 

We  then  gave  a  feast  and  dance,  and  di- 
vided the  spoils.  After  the  dance  we  killed 
all  the  cattle  and  dried  the  meat.  We 
dressed  the  hides  and  then  the  dried  meat 
was  packed  in  between  these  hides  and 
stored  away.  All  that  winter  we  had  plenty 
of  meat.  These  were  the  first  cattle  we  ever 
had.     As  usual  we  killed  and  ate  some  of 

the  mules.    We  had  little  use  for  mules,  and 

76 


SUCCESSFUL   RAIDS 

if  we  could  not  trade  them  for  something  of 
value,  we  killed  them. 

In  the  summer  of  1865,  with  four  war- 
riors, I  went  again  into  Mexico.  Hereto- 
fore we  had  gone  on  foot;  we  were  accus- 
tomed to  fight  on  foot;  besides,  we  could 
more  easily  conceal  ourselves  when  dis- 
mounted. But  this  time  we  wanted  more 
cattle,  and  it  was  hard  to  drive  them  when 
we  were  on  foot.  We  entered  Sonora  at  a 
point  southwest  from  Tombstone,  Arizona, 
and  followed  the  Sierra  de  Antunez  Moun- 
tains to  the  southern  limit,  then  crossed  the 
country  as  far  south  as  the  mouth  of  Yaqui 
River.  Here  we  saw  a  great  lake3  extend- 
ing beyond  the  limit  of  sight.  Then  we 
turned  north,  attacked  several  settlements, 
and  secured  plenty  of  supplies.  When  we 
had  come  back  northwest  of  Arispe  we  se- 
cured about  sixty  head  of  cattle,  and  drove 
them  to  our  homes  in  Arizona.  We  did  not 
go  directly  home,  but  camped  in  different 

s  Gulf  of  California. 

77 


GERONIMO 

valleys  with  our  cattle.  We  were  not  trailed. 
When  we  arrived  at  our  camp  the  tribe  was 
again  assembled  for  feasting  and  dancing. 
Presents  were  given  to  everybody;  then  the 
cattle  were  killed  and  the  meat  dried  and 
packed. 


78 


CHAPTER   IX 

VARYING    FORTUNES 

IN  the  fall  of  1865  with  nine  other  war- 
riors I  went  into  Mexico  on  foot.  We 
attacked  several  settlements  south  of  Casa 
Grande,  and  collected  many  horses  and 
mules.  We  made  our  way  northward  with 
these  animals  through  the  mountains.  When 
near  Arispe  we  made  camp  one  evening, 
and  thinking  that  we  were  not  heing  trailed, 
turned  loose  the  whole  herd,  even  those  we 
had  been  riding.  They  were  in  a  valley  sur- 
rounded by  steep  mountains,  and  we  were 
camped  at  the  mouth  of  this  valley  so  that 
the  animals  could  not  leave  without  coming 
through  our  camp.  Just  as  we  had  begun 
to  eat  our  supper  our  scouts  came  in  and  an- 
nounced Mexican  troops  coming  toward  our 
camp.  We  started  for  the  horses,  but  troops 
that  our  scouts  had  not  seen  were  on  the 

79 


GERONIMO 

cliffs  above  us,  and  opened  fire.  We  scat- 
tered in  all  directions,  and  the  troops  re- 
covered all  our  booty.  In  three  days  we 
reassembled  at  our  appointed  place  of  ren- 
dezvous in  the  Sierra  Madre  Mountains  in 
northern  Sonora.  Mexican  troops  did  not 
follow  us,  and  we  returned  to  Arizona  with- 
out any  more  fighting  and  with  no  booty. 
Again  I  had  nothing  to  say,  but  I  was  anx- 
ious for  another  raid. 

Early  the  next  summer  (1866)  I  took 
thirty  mounted  warriors  and  invaded  Mex- 
ican territory.  We  went  south  through 
Chihuahua  as  far  as  Santa  Cruz,  Sonora, 
then  crossed  over  the  Sierra  Madre  Moun- 
tains, following  the  river  course  at  the  south 
end  of  the  range.  We  kept  on  westward 
from  the  Sierra  Madre  Mountains  to  the 
Sierra  de  Sahuripa  Mountains,  and  fol- 
lowed that  range  northward.  We  collected 
all  the  horses,  mules,  and  cattle  we  wanted, 
and  drove  them  northward  through  Sonora 
into  Arizona.     Mexicans  saw  us  at  many 

80 


> 

>—l 

o 

S3 
W 

w 

0 


o 

c 

o 


C 


C 


K 

sc 

w 

K 

3 


w    ►> 


H 

EB 

o 
p 


o 

—  • 

p 


VARYING   FORTUNES 

times  and  in  many  places,  but  they  did  not 
attack  us  at  any  time,  nor  did  any  troops 
attempt  to  follow  us.  When  we  arrived  at 
our  homes  we  gave  presents  to  all,  and  the 
tribe  feasted  and  danced.  During  this  raid 
we  had  killed  about  fifty  Mexicans. 

Next  year  (1867)  Mangus-Colorado  led 
eight  warriors  on  a  raid  into  Mexico.  I 
went  as  a  warrior,  for  I  was  always  glad 
to  fight  the  Mexicans.  We  rode  south  from 
near  Tombstone,  Arizona,  into  Sonora, 
Mexico.  We  attacked  some  cowboys,  and 
after  a  fight  with  them,  in  which  two  of 
their  number  were  killed,  we  drove  all  their 
cattle  northward.  The  second  day  we  were 
driving  the  cattle,  but  had  no  scouts  out. 
When  we  were  not  far  from  Arispe,  Mexican 
troops  rode  upon  us.  They  were  well  armed 
and  well  mounted,  and  when  we  first  saw 
them  they  were  not  half  a  mile  away  from 
us.  We  left  the  cattle  and  rode  as  hard  as 
we  could  toward  the  mountains,  but  they 
gained  on  us  rapidly.     Soon  they  opened 

81 


GERONIMO 

fire,  but  were  so  far  away  from  us  that  we 
were  unable  to  reach  them  with  our  arrows ; 
finally  we  reached  some  timber,  and,  leaving 
our  ponies,  fought  from  cover.  Then  the 
Mexicans  halted,  collected  our  ponies,  and 
rode  away  across  the  plains  toward  Arispe, 
driving  the  cattle  with  them.  We  stood  and 
watched  them  until  they  disappeared  in  the 
distance,  and  then  took  up  our  march  for 
home. 

We  arrived  home  in  five  days  with  no  vic- 
tory to  report,  no  spoils  to  divide,  and  not 
even  the  ponies  which  we  had  ridden  into 
Mexico.  This  expedition  was  considered 
disgraceful. 

The  warriors  who  had  been  with  Mangus- 
Colorado  on  this  last  expedition  wanted  to 
return  to  Mexico.  They  were  not  satisfied, 
besides  they  felt  keenly  the  taunts  of  the 
other  warriors.  Mangus-Colorado  would 
not  lead  them  back,  so  I  took  command  and 
we  went  on  foot,  directly  toward  Arispe  in 
Sonora,  and  made  our  camp  in  the  Sierra  de 

82 


VARYING   FORTUNES 

Sahuripa  Mountains.  There  were  only  six 
of  us,  but  we  raided  several  settlements  (at 
night),  captured  many  horses  and  mules, 
and  loaded  them  with  provisions,  saddles 
and  blankets.  Then  we  returned  to  Arizona, 
traveling  only  at  night.  When  we  arrived 
at  our  camp  we  sent  out  scouts  to  prevent 
any  surprise  by  Mexicans,  assembled  the 
tribe,  feasted,  danced,  and  divided  the  spoils. 
Mangus-Colorado  would  not  receive  any  of 
this  booty,  but  we  did  not  care.  No  Mex- 
ican troops  followed  us  to  Arizona. 

About  a  year  after  this  (1868)  Mexican 
troops  rounded  up  all  the  horses  and  mules 
of  the  tribe  not  far  from  our  settlement. 
No  raids  had  been  made  into  Mexico  that 
year,  and  we  were  not  expecting  any  at- 
tacks. We  were  all  in  camp,  having  just 
returned  from  hunting. 

About  two  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  two 
Mexican  scouts  were  seen  near  our  settle- 
ment. We  killed  these  scouts,  but  the  troops 
got  under  way  with  the  herd  of  our  horses 

83 


GERONIMO 

and  mules  before  we  saw  them.  It  was  use- 
less to  try  to  overtake  them  on  foot,  and 
our  tribe  had  not  a  horse  left.  I  took  twenty 
warriors  and  trailed  them.  We  found  the 
stock  at  a  cattle  ranch  in  Sonora,  not  far 
from  Nacozari,  and  attacked  the  cowboys 
who  had  them  in  charge.  We  killed  two 
men  and  lost  none.  After  the  fight  we 
drove  off  our  own  stock  and  all  of  theirs. 

We  were  trailed  by  nine  cowboys.  I 
sent  the  stock  on  ahead  and  with  three  war- 
riors stayed  in  the  rear  to  intercept  any  at- 
tacking parties.  One  night  when  near  the 
Arizona  line  we  discovered  these  cowboys 
on  our  trail  and  watched  them  camp  for  the 
night  and  picket  their  horses.  About  mid- 
night we  stole  into  their  camp  and  silently 
led  away  all  their  horses,  leaving  the  cow- 
boys asleep.  Then  we  rode  hard  and  over- 
took our  companions,  who  always  traveled 
at  night  instead  of  in  the  daytime.  We 
turned  these  horses  in  with  the  herd  and  fell 
back  to  again  intercept  anyone  who  might 

84 


VARYING    FORTUNES 

trail  us.  What  these  nine  cowboys  did  next 
morning  I  do  not  know,  and  I  have  never 
heard  the  Mexicans  say  anything  about  it; 
I  know  they  did  not  follow  us,  for  we  were 
not  molested.  When  we  arrived  in  camp  at 
home  there  was  great  rejoicing  in  the  tribe. 
It  was  considered  a  good  trick  to  get  the 
Mexicans'  horses  and  leave  them  asleep  in 
the  mountains. 

It  was  a  long  time  before  we  again  went 
into  Mexico  or  were  disturbed  by  the  Mex- 
icans. 


8/5 


CHAPTER   X 

OTHER  RAIDS 

WHEN  reading  the  foregoing  chap- 
ters of  Apache  raids  one  not  ac- 
quainted with  the  lawlessness  of  the  frontier 
might  wonder  how  this  tendency  of  the 
Apaches  was  developed  to  such  a  marked 
degree;  but  one  acquainted  with  the  real 
conditions — the  disregard  for  law  by  both 
Mexicans  and  white  men  along  the  border 
line  of  Old  Mexico  and  Arizona  in  early 
days — can  readily  understand  where  the 
Apache  got  his  education  in  the  art  of  con- 
ducting lawless  raids.  In  order,  therefore, 
that  those  who  are  unacquainted  with  the 
conditions  as  they  were  in  southern  Arizona 
during  the  eighties,  may  understand  the  en- 
vironment of  the  Apaches,  this  chapter  is 
given.    The  events  herein  narrated  are  taken 

86 


'''»',    '  '  .    ' ,     '    ' 


*     ) 


>    > 


,    • 


OTHER  RAIDS 

by  the  author  from  many  accounts  given 
him  by  reliable  men  who  lived  in  this  section 
of  country  during  the  period  mentioned. 

Raid  by  White  Men 

In  1882  a  company  of  six  Mexican  tra- 
ders, who  were  known  as  "  smugglers  "  be- 
cause they  evaded  duties  on  goods  which 
they  brought  into  United  States  and  sold 
in  Arizona,  were  camped  in  Skeleton  Canon, 
ten  miles  north  of  the  north  line  of  Old 
Mexico.  They  were  known  to  carry  large 
sums  of  money,  but  as  they  were  always 
armed  and  ready  to  defend  their  possessions 
they  were  not  often  molested.  However,  on 
this  occasion,  just  as  they  were  rising  in  the 
morning  to  prepare  their  breakfast,  five 
white  men  opened  fire  on  them  from  ambush 
and  all  save  one  of  the  Mexicans  were  killed. 
This  one,  though  wounded,  finally  made  his 
escape.  A  few  days  after  the  killing  some 
cowboys  on  a  round-up  camped  at  this 
place   and   buried   the  remains    (what   the 

87 


GERONIMO 

coyotes  had  left)  of  these  five  Mexicans. 
Two  years  later,  at  the  same  place,  a  cow- 
boy found  a  leather  bag  containing  seventy- 
two  Mexican  dollars,  which  small  amount 
of  money  had  been  overlooked  by  the 
robbers. 

The  men  who  did  this  killing  lived  in 
Arizona  for  many  years  afterwards,  and 
although  it  was  known  that  they  had  com- 
mitted the  depredation,  no  arrests  followed, 
and  no  attempt  was  made  by  any  of  the 
Mexicans  to  recover  the  property  of  their 
fellow  citizens. 

Meancan  Raid 

In  1884  a  cattleman  and  four  cowboys 
from  his  ranch  started  to  drive  some  fat 
cattle  to  market  at  Tombstone,  Arizona. 
The  route  they  took  led  partly  through  Old 
Mexico  and  partly  through  Arizona.  One 
night  they  camped  in  a  canon  just  south  of 
the  Mexican  border.  Next  morning  at  day- 
light, the  cowboy  who  had  been  on  herd 

88 


OTHER   RAIDS 

duty  the  last  half  of  the  night  had  just  come 
in  and  aroused  the  camp  when  the  Mexicans 
opened  fire  on  them  from  ambush.  The  cat- 
tleman and  one  of  the  cowboys  were  severely 
wounded  at  the  first  volley  and  took  shelter 
behind  the  camp  wagon,  from  which  posi- 
tion they  fired  as  long  as  their  ammunition 
lasted.  The  other  three  were  only  slightly 
wounded  and  reached  cover,  but  only  one 
escaped  with  his  life.  He  remained  in  hid- 
ing for  two  days  before  his  comrades  found 
him.  He  saw  the  Mexicans  rob  the  bodies 
of  the  dead  and  lead  away  their  saddle 
horses,  after  having  cooked  breakfast  for 
themselves  in  the  deserted  camp.  He  was 
severely  wounded  and  all  his  ammunition 
was  gone,  hence  he  could  only  wait. 

On  the  second  day  after  this  raid  some  of 
the  cattle  strayed  back  to  the  old  ranch, 
thereby  giving  notice  to  the  cowboys  that 
there  had  been  foul  play.  They  found  their 
wounded  companions  lying  delirious  near 
the  decaying  bodies  of  their  comrades.    No 

89 


GERONIMO 

arrests  were  ever  made  in  Mexico  for  these 
murders,  and  no  attempt  was  made  to  re- 
cover damage  or  prosecute  the  robbers.  The 
two  instances  above  narrated  will  serve  to 
show  the  reader  what  kind  of  an  example 
was  set  for  the  Apaches  by  at  least  a  portion 
of  the  inhabitants  of  the  two  Christian  na- 
tions with  whom  they  came  in  contact. 

Apache  Raids 

It  is  thought  well  to  give  in  this  chapter 
some  of  the  depredations  of  the  Apaches, 
not  told  by  Geronimo.  They  are  given  as 
told  by  our  own  citizens  and  from  the  white 
man's  point  of  view. 

In  1884  Judge  McCormick  and  wife,  ac- 
companied by  their  young  son,  were  driving 
from  Silver  City  to  Lordsburg,  when  they 
were  ambushed  by  Apaches.  The  bodies  of 
the  adults  were  found  soon  afterward,  but 
the  child's  body  was  never  recovered.  Years 
afterwards,  an  Apache  squaw  told  some  of 
the  settlers  in  Arizona  that  the  little  boy 

90 


OTHER   RAIDS 

(about  eight  years  old)  cried  so  much  and 
was  so  stubborn  that  they  had  to  kill  him, 
although  their  original  intention  was  to 
spare  his  life. 

In  1882  a  man  named  Hunt  was  wounded 
in  a  row  in  a  saloon  in  Tombstone,  Arizona. 
During  this  row  two  other  men  had  been 
killed,  and,  to  avoid  arrest,  Hunt  and  his 
brother  went  into  the  mountains  and  camped 
about  ten  miles  north  of  Willow  Springs  to 
await  the  healing  of  his  wounds.  A  few 
days  after  they  came  there,  Apache  Indians 
attacked  them  and  killed  the  wounded 
brother,  but  the  other,  by  hard  riding,  made 
good  his  escape. 

In  1883  two  Eastern  boys  went  into  Ari- 
zona to  prospect.  Their  real  outing  began 
at  Willow  Springs,  where  they  had  stayed 
two  days  with  the  cowboys.  These  cowboys 
had  warned  them  against  the  Apaches,  but 
the  young  men  seemed  entirely  fearless,  and 
pushed  on  into  the  mountains.  On  the 
second  morning  after  they  left  the  settle- 

91 


GERONIMO 

ment,  one  of  the  boys  was  getting  breakfast 
while  the  other  went  to  bring  in  the  pack 
horses  that  had  been  hobbled  and  turned 
loose  the  night  before  to  graze.  Just  about 
the  time  he  found  his  horses,  two  Apache 
warriors  rode  out  from  cover  toward  him 
and  he  made  a  hasty  retreat  to  camp,  jump- 
ing off  of  a  bluff  and  in  so  doing  breaking 
his  leg. 

A  consultation  was  then  held  between 
the  two  Easterners  and  it  was  decided  that 
perhaps  all  the  stories  they  had  been  told 
of  the  Apache  raids  were  true,  and  that 
it  was  advisable  to  surrender.  Accordingly 
a  white  handkerchief  was  tied  to  the  end  of 
a  pole  and  raised  cautiously  above  the  top  of 
the  bluff.  In  about  ten  minutes  the  two 
Indians — one  a  very  old  warrior  and  the 
other  a  mere  boy,  evidently  his  son — rode 
into  camp  and  dismounted.  The  old  war- 
rior examined  the  broken  limb,  then  without 
a  word  proceeded  to  take  off  the  shirt  of 
the  uninjured  youth,  with  strips  of  which  he 

92 


OTHER   RAIDS 

carefully  bound  up  the  broken  leg.  After 
this  the  two  Indians  ate  the  prepared  break- 
fast and  remounted  their  ponies.  Then  the 
old  warrior,  indicating  the  direction  with  his 
thumb,  said  "  Doctor — Lordsburg — three 
days,"  and  silently  rode  away.  The  young 
men  rode  twenty-five  miles  to  Sansimone, 
where  the  cowboys  fitted  them  out  with  a 
wagon  to  continue  their  journey  to  Lords- 
burg, seventy-five  miles  further,  where  a 
physician's  services  could  be  secured. 

In  1883  two  prospectors,  Alberts  and 
Reese  by  name,  were  driving  a  team,  con- 
sisting of  a  horse  and  a  mule,  through  Tur- 
key Creek  bottoms,  when  they  were  shot  by 
the  Indians.  The  wagon  and  harness  were 
left  in  the  road,  and  the  mule  was  found 
dead  in  the  road  two  hundred  yards  from 
that  place.  Evidently  the  Indians  had  not 
much  use  for  him.  The  guns  of  the  pros- 
pectors were  found  later,  but  the  horse  they 
drove  was  not  recovered. 

In  none  of  the  above-named  instances 

93 


GERONIMO 

were  the  bodies  of  the  victims  mutilated. 
However,  there  are  many  recorded  instances 
in  which  the  Apache  Indians  did  mutilate 
the  bodies  of  their  victims,  but  it  is  claimed 
by  Geronimo  that  these  were  outlawed  In- 
dians, as  his  regular  warriors  were  in- 
structed to  scalp  none  except  those  killed  in 
battle,  and  to  torture  none  except  to  make 
them  reveal  desired  information. 

In  1884  two  cowboys  in  the  employment 
of  the  Sansimone  Cattle  Company  were 
camped  at  Willow  Springs,  eighteen  miles 
southwest  of  Skeleton  Canon,  and  not  far 
from  Old  Mexico.  Just  at  sundown  their 
camp  was  surrounded  by  Apaches  in  war 
paint,  who  said  that  they  had  been  at  war 
with  the  Mexicans  and  wished  to  return  to 
the  United  States.  There  were  about 
seventy-five  Indians  in  the  whole  tribe,  the 
squaws  and  children  coming  up  later.  They 
had  with  them  about  one  hundred  and  fifty 
Mexican  horses.  The  Indians  took  posses- 
sion of  the  camp  and  remained  for  about  ten 

94 


OTHER   RAIDS 

days,  getting  their  supplies  of  meat  by  kill- 
ing cattle  of  the  company. 

With  this  band  of  Indians  was  a  white 
boy  about  fourteen  years  old,  who  had  evi- 
dently been  with  them  from  infancy,  for  he 
could  not  speak  a  word  of  English,  and  did 
not  understand  much  Spanish,  but  spoke  the 
Apache  language  readily. 

They  would  allow  but  one  of  the  cow- 
boys to  leave  camp  at  a  time,  keeping  the 
other  under  guard.  They  had  sentinels  with 
sypglasses  on  all  the  hills  and  peaks  sur- 
rounding the  camp. 

One  evening  when  one  of  the  cowboys, 
William  Berne,  had  been  allowed  to  pass  out 
of  the  camp,  he  noticed  an  Indian  dis- 
mounted and,  as  he  approached,  discovered 
that  the  Indian  had  him  under  range  of  his 
rifle.  He  immediately  dismounted,  and 
standing  on  the  opposite  side  from  the  red- 
skin, threw  his  own  Winchester  across  his 
horse's  neck,  when  the  Indian  sprang  on  his 
horse    and   galloped    toward   him    at   full 

95 


GERONIMO 

speed,  making  signs  to  him  not  to  shoot,  and 
when  he  approached  him,  dismounted  and 
pointing  to  the  ground,  showed  Berne  many 
fresh  deer  tracks.  Then,  as  an  understand- 
ing had  been  established,  the  cowboy  re- 
mounted and  went  on  his  way,  leaving  the 
Apache  to  hunt  the  deer. 

One  day  when  this  cowboy  was  about  ten 
miles  from  camp,  he  found  two  splendid 
horses  of  the  Indians.  These  horses  had 
strayed  from  the  herd.  Thinking  that  they 
would  in  a  way  compensate  for  the  cattle 
the  Apaches  were  eating,  he  drove  them  on 
for  about  five  miles  into  a  canon  where  there 
was  plenty  of  grass  and  water  and  left  them 
there,  intending  to  come  back  after  the  de- 
parture of  the  Indians  and  take  possession 
of  them. 

On  the  tenth  day  after  the  arrival  of  this 
band  of  Indians,  United  States  troops,  ac- 
companied by  two  Indians  who  had  been 
sent  to  make  the  arrangements,  arrived  in 
camp,  paid  for  the  cattle  the  Apaches  had 

96 


o 
a* 


3 

o 

O 

•-i 
a 
a 

o 


M 

3=  o 


«^ 

n 

c-t- 
5' 

3 


OTHER  RAIDS 

eaten,  took  the  Indians  and  their  stock,  and 
moved  on  toward  Fort  Bowie.  The  cowboys 
immediately  started  for  the  canon  where  the 
two  horses  had  been  left,  but  had  not  gone 
far  when  they  met  two  Indians  driving  these 
horses  in  front  of  them  as  they  pushed  on 
to  overtake  the  tribe. 

Evidently  the  shrewdness  of  the  paleface 
had  not  outwitted  the  red  man  that  time. 

Geronimo  says  he  was  in  no  wise  con- 
nected with  the  events  herein  mentioned,  but 
refuses  to  state  whether  he  knows  anything 
about  them.  He  holds  it  unmanly  to  tell  of 
any  depredations  of  red  men  except  those 
for  which  he  was  responsible. 

Such  were  the  events  transpiring  in 
"  Apache  land  "  during  the  days  when  Ge- 
ronimo was  leading  his  warriors  to  avenge 
the  "  wrongs  "  of  his  people.  This  chapter 
will  serve  to  show  that  the  Apache  had 
plenty  of  examples  of  lawlessness  furnished 
him,  and  also  that  he  was  a  very  apt  scholar 
in  this  school  of  savage  lawlessness. 

97 


CHAPTER   XI 

HEAVY  FIGHTING 

ABOUT  1873  we  were  again  attacked 
^  by  Mexican  troops  in  our  settlement, 
but  we  defeated  them.  Then  we  decided  to 
make  raids  into  Mexico.  We  moved  our 
whole  camp,  packing  all  our  belongings  on 
mules  and  horses,  went  into  Mexico  and 
made  camp  in  the  mountains  near  Nacori. 
In  moving  our  camp  in  this  way  we  wanted 
no  one  to  spy  on  us,  and  if  we  passed  a 
Mexican's  home  we  usually  killed  the  in- 
mates. However,  if  they  offered  to  sur- 
render and  made  no  resistance  or  trouble  in 
any  way,  we  would  take  them  prisoners. 
Frequently  we  would  change  our  place  of 
rendezvous ;  then  we  would  take  with  us  our 
prisoners  if  they  were  willing  to  go,  but  if 
they  were  unruly  they  might  be  killed.     I 

remember  one  Mexican  in  the  Sierra  Madre 

98 


HEAVY   FIGHTING 

Mountains  who  saw  us  moving  and  delayed 
us  for  some  time.  We  took  the  trouble  to 
get  him,  thinking  the  plunder  of  his  house 
would  pay  us  for  the  delay,  but  after  we 
had  killed  him  we  found  nothing  in  his 
house  worth  having.  We  ranged  in  these 
mountains  for  over  a  year,  raiding  the  Mex- 
ican settlements  for  our  supplies,  but  not 
having  any  general  engagement  with  Mex- 
ican troops;  then  we  returned  to  our  homes 
in  Arizona.  After  remaining  in  Arizona 
about  a  year  we  returned  to  Mexico,  and 
went  into  hiding  in  the  Sierra  Madre  Moun- 
tains. Our  camp  was  near  Nacori,  and  we 
had  just  organized  bands  of  warriors  for 
raiding  the  country,  when  our  scouts  dis- 
covered Mexican  troops  coming  toward  our 
camp  to  attack  us. 

Battle  of  White  Hill 
The  chief  of  the  Nedni  Apaches,  Whoa, 
was  with  me  and  commanded  one  division. 
The  warriors  were  all  marched  toward  the 

99 


GERONIMO 

troops  and  met  them  at  a  place  about  five 
miles  from  our  camp.  We  showed  our- 
selves to  the  soldiers  and  they  quickly  rode 
to  the  top  of  a  hill  and  dismounted,  placing 
their  horses  on  the  outside  for  breastworks. 
It  was  a  round  hill,  very  steep  and  rocky, 
and  there  was  no  timber  on  its  sides.  There 
were  two  companies  of  Mexican  cavalry,  and 
we  had  about  sixty  warriors.  We  crept  up 
the  hill  behind  the  rocks,  and  they  kept  up  a 
constant  fire,  but  I  had  cautioned  our  war- 
riors not  to  expose  themselves  to  the  Mex- 
icans. 

I  knew  that  the  troopers  would  waste 
their  ammunition.  Soon  we  had  killed  all 
their  horses,  but  the  soldiers  would  lie  be- 
hind these  and  shoot  at  us.  While  we  had 
killed  several  Mexicans,  we  had  not  yet  lost 
a  man.  However,  it  was  impossible  to  get 
very  close  to  them  in  this  way,  and  I  deemed 
it  best  to  lead  a  charge  against  them. 

We  had  been  fighting  ever  since  about 

one  o'clock,  and  about  the  middle  of  the 

100 


> 

"3 


-    - 

o  ° 
5! 

re' 


♦-  <-+■ 

,  ft 


i  &i 


2 

ft 

3 


P 


P 

r. 

3" 
..  rt 


•  > 

1/3 


3    3 
it-    , 


I  o 

f  3" 


- 


>-*5      l-C 
CT      W 


3.  1 


ft 


ft    »-h, 


I© 


ft 


.    ft 


ii.  ^  t 


O 
O    3 


■''■'* 


HEAVY   FIGHTING 


afternoon,  seeing  that  we  were  making  no 
further  progress,  I  gave  the  sign  for  the 
advance.  The  war-whoop  sounded  and  we 
leaped  forward  from  every  stone  over  the 
Mexicans'  dead  horses,  fighting  hand  to 
hand.  The  attack  was  so  sudden  that  the 
Mexicans,  running  first  this  way  and  then 
that,  became  so  confused  that  in  a  few  min- 
utes we  had  killed  them  all.  Then  we 
scalped  the  slain,  carried  away  our  dead,  and 
secured  all  the  arms  we  needed.  That  night 
we  moved  our  camp  eastward  through  the 
Sierra  Madre  Mountains  into  Chihuahua. 
No  troops  molested  us  here  and  after  about 
a  year  we  returned  to  Arizona. 

Almost  every  year  we  would  live  a  part^ 
of  the  time  in  Old  Mexico.    There  were  at 
this   time    many    settlements    in    Arizona; 
game  was  not  plentiful,  and  besides  we  liked  | 
to  go  down  into  Old  Mexico.    Besides,  the  J 
lands  of  the  Nedni  Apaches,  our  friends  and 
kinsmen,  extended  far  into  Mexico.    Their 
Chief,  Whoa,  was  as  a  brother  to  me,  and 

101 


GERONIMO 

we  spent  much  of  our  time  in  his  terri- 
tory. 

About  1880  we  were  in  camp  in  the  moun- 
tains south  of  Casa  Grande,  when  a  com- 
pany of  Mexican  troops  attacked  us.  There 
were  twenty-four  Mexican  soldiers  and 
about  forty  Indians.  The  Mexicans  sur- 
prised us  in  camp  and  fired  on  us,  killing 
two  Indians  the  first  volley.  I  do  not  know 
how  they  were  able  to  find  our  camp  unless 
they  had  excellent  scouts  and  our  guards 
were  careless,  but  there  they  were  shooting 
at  us  before  we  knew  they  were  near.  We 
were  in  the  timber,  and  I  gave  the  order  to 
go  forward  and  fight  at  close  range.  We 
kept  behind  rocks  and  trees  until  we  came 
within  ten  yards  of  their  line,  then  we  stood 
up  and  both  sides  shot  until  all  the  Mexicans 
were  killed.  We  lost  twelve  warriors  in  this 
battle. 

This   place   was    called  by   the   Indians 

"  Sko-la-ta."    When  we  had  buried  our  dead 

and  secured  what  supplies  the  Mexicans  had, 

102 


HEAVY   FIGHTING 

we  went  northeast.  At  a  place  near  Nacori 
Mexican  troops  attacked  us.  At  this  place, 
called  by  the  Indians  "  Nokode,"  there  were 
about  eighty  warriors,  Bedonkohe  and 
Nedni  Apaches.  There  were  three  com- 
panies of  Mexican  troops.  They  attacked 
us  in  an  open  field,  and  \ve  scattered,  firing 
as  we  ran.  They  followed  us,  but  we  dis- 
persed, and  soon  were  free  from  their  pur- 
suit; then  we  reassembled  in  the  Sierra 
Madre  Mountains.  Here  a  council  was 
held,  and  as  Mexican  troops  were  coming 
from  many  quarters,  we  disbanded. 

In  about  four  months  we  reassembled  at  ^t 
Casa  Grande  to  make  a  treaty  of  peace. 
The  chiefs  of  the  town  of  Casa  Grande, 
and  all  of  the  men  of  Casa  Grande,  made  a 
treaty  with  us.  We  shook  hands  and  prom- 
ised to  be  brothers.  Then  we  began  to  trade, 
and  the  Mexicans  gave  us  mescal.  Soon 
nearly  all  the  Indians  were  drunk.  While 
they  were  drunk  two  companies  of  Mexican 
troops,    from,  another   town,   attacked   us, 

103 


GERONIMO 

killed  twenty  Indians,  and  captured  many 
more.1     We  fled  in  all  directions. 

i  It  is  impossible  to  get  Geronimo  to  understand  that 
these  troops  served  the  general  government  instead  of  any 
particular  town.  He  still  thinks  each  town  independent 
and  each  city  a  separate  tribe.  He  cannot  understand  the 
relation  of  cities  to  the  general  government. 


104 


CHAPTER   XII 

GERONIMO's  MIGHTIEST  BATTLE 

AFTER  the  treachery  and  massacre  of 
L  Casa  Grande  we  did  not  reassemble 
for  a  long  while,  and  when  we  did  we  re- 
turned to  Arizona.  We  remained  in  Ari-jJ 
zona  for  some  time,  living  in  San  Carlos 
Reservation,  at  a  place  now  called  Geron- 
imo.  In  1883  we  went  into  Mexico  again. 
We  remained  in  the  mountain  ranges  of 
Mexico  for  about  fourteen  months,  and  dur- 
ing this  time  we  had  many  skirmishes  with 
Mexican  troops.  In  1884  we  returned  to/|» 
Arizona  to  get  other  Apaches  to  come  with 
us  into  Mexico.  The  Mexicans  were  gath- 
ering troops  in  the  mountains  where  we  had 
been  ranging,  and  their  numbers  were  so 
much  greater  than  ours  that  we  could  not 
hope  to  fight  them  successfully,  and  we  were 

105 


GERONIMO 

tired  of  being  chased  about  from  place  to 
place. 

In  Arizona  we  had  trouble  with  the 
United  States  soldiers  (explained  in  next 
chapter)  and  returned  to  Mexico. 

We  had  lost  about  fifteen  warriors  in 
Arizona,  and  had  gained  no  recruits.  With 
our  reduced  number  we  camped  in  the  moun- 
tains north  of  Arispe.  Mexican  troops  were 
seen  by  our  scouts  in  several  directions.  The 
United  States  troops  were  coming  down 
from  the  north.  We  were  well  armed  with 
guns  and  supplied  with  ammunition,  but  we 
did  not  care  to  be  surrounded  by  the  troops 
of  two  governments,  so  we  started  to  move 
our  camp  southward. 

One  night  we  made  camp  some  distance 
from  the  mountains  by  a  stream.  There 
was  not  much  water  in  the  stream,  but  a 
deep  channel  was  worn  through  the  prairie 
and  small  trees  were  beginning  to  grow  here 
and  there  along  the  bank  of  this  stream. 

In  those  days  we  never  camped  without 

106 


HIS    MIGHTEST   BATTLE 

placing  scouts,  for  we  knew  that  we  were 
liable  to  be  attacked  at  any  time.  The  next 
morning  just  at  daybreak  our  scouts  came  in, 
aroused  the  camp,  and  notified  us  that  Mex- 
ican troops  were  approaching.  Within  five 
minutes  the  Mexicans  began  firing  on  us. 
We  took  to  the  ditches  made  by  the  stream, 
and  had  the  women  and  children  busy  dig- 
ging these  deeper.  I  gave  strict  orders  to 
waste  no  ammunition  and  keep  under  cover. 
We  killed  many  Mexicans  that  day  and  in 
turn  lost  heavily,  for  the  fight  lasted  all  day. 
Frequently  troops  would  charge  at  one  point, 
be  repulsed,  then  rally  and  charge  at  another 
point. 

About  noon  we  began  to  hear  them  speak- 
ing my  name  with  curses.  In  the  afternoon 
the  general  came  on  the  field  and  the  fight- 
ing became  more  furious.  I  gave  orders  to 
my  warriors  to  try  to  kill  all  the  Mexican 
officers.  About  three  o'clock  the  general 
called  all  the  officers  together  at  the  right 
side  of  the  field.    The  place  where  they  as- 

107 


GERONIMO 

sembled  was  not  very  far  from  the  main 
stream,  and  a  little  ditch  ran  out  close  to 
where  the  officers  stood.  Cautiously  I 
crawled  out  this  ditch  very  close  to  where 
the  council  was  being  held.  The  general  was 
an  old  warrior.  The  wind  was  blowing  in 
my  direction,  so  that  I  could  hear  all  he  said, 
and  1 1  understood  most  of  it.  This  is  about 
what  he  told  them:  "Officers,  yonder  in 
those  ditches  is  the  red  devil  Geronimo  and 
his  hated  band.  This  must  be  his  last  day. 
Ride  on  him  from  both  sides  of  the  ditches ; 
kill  men,  women,  and  children ;  take  no  pris- 
oners; dead  Indians  are  what  we  want.  Do 
not  spare  your  own  men;  exterminate  this 
band  at  any  cost ;  I  will  post  the  wounded  to 
shoot  all  deserters;  go  back  to  your  com- 
panies and  advance." 

Just  as  the  command  to  go  forward  was 
given  I  took  deliberate  aim  at  the  general 
and  he  fell.  In  an  instant  the  ground 
around  me  was  riddled  with  bullets,  but  I 

i  Geronimo  has  a  fair  knowledge  of  the  Spanish  language. 

108 


o 

or 

r 

n' 

o 

-*> 

* 

o 

W 

-hi 

E 

3 

o 

0 

— 

3 

»T* 

rs 

0) 


a 


O 
w 

o 

3 


HIS    MIGHTEST   BATTLE 

was  untouched.  The  Apaches  had  seen. 
From  all  along  the  ditches  arose  the  fierce 
war-cry  of  my  people.  The  columns  wav- 
ered an  instant  and  then  swept  on;  they  did 
not  retreat  until  our  fire  had  destroyed  the 
front  ranks. 

After  this  their  fighting  was  not  so  fierce, 
yet  they  continued  to  rally  and  readvance 
until  dark.  They  also  continued  to  speak 
my  name  with  threats  and  curses.  That 
night  before  the  firing  had  ceased  a  dozen 
Indians  had  crawled  out  of  the  ditches  and 
set  fire  to  the  long  prairie  grass  behind  the 
Mexican  troops.  During  the  confusion  that 
followed  we  escaped  to  the  mountains. 

This  was  the  last  battle  that  I  ever  fought 
with  Mexicans.  United  States  troops  were, 
trailing  us  continually  from  this  time  until 
the  treaty  was  made  with  General  Miles  in 
Skeleton  Canon. 

During  my  many  wars  with  the  Mexicans 
I  received  eight  wounds,  as  follows:  shot  in 
the  right  leg  above  the  knee,  and  still  carry 

109 


GERONIMO 

the  bullet;  shot  through  the  left  forearm; 
wounded  in  the  right  leg  below  the  knee  with 
a  saber ;  wounded  on  top  of  the  head  with  the 
butt  of  a  musket;  shot  just  below  the  outer 
corner  of  the  left  eye ;  shot  in  left  side ;  shot 
in  the  back.  I  have  killed  many  Mexicans ; 
I  do  not  know  how  many,  for  frequently  I 
did  not  count  them.  Some  of  them  were 
not  worth  counting. 

It  has  been  a  long  time  since  then,  but  still 
I  have  no  love  for  the  Mexicans.  With  me 
they  were  always  treacherous  and  malicious. 
I  am  old  now  and  shall  never  go  on  the  war- 
path again,  but  if  I  were  young,  and  fol- 
lowed the  warpath,  it  would  lead  into  Old 
Mexico. 


no 


PART    III 


THE  WHITE  MEN 


CHAPTER   XIII 

COMING   OF   THE   WHITE   MEN 

ABOUT  the  time  of  the  massacre  of 
fc  "Kaskiyeh"  (1858)  we  heard  that 
some  white  men  were  measuring  land  to  the 
south  of  us.  In  company  with  a  number  of 
other  warriors  I  went  to  visit  them.  We 
could  not  understand  them  very  well,  for  we 
had  no  interpreter,  but  we  made  a  treaty 
with  them  by  shaking  hands  and  promising 
to  be  brothers.  Then  we  made  our  camp 
near  their  camp,  and  they  came  to  trade 
with  us.  We  gave  them  buckskin,  blankets, 
and  ponies  in  exchange  for  shirts  and  pro- 
visions. We  also  brought  them  game,  for 
which  they  gave  us  some  money.  We  did 
not  know  the  value  of  this  money,  but  we 
kept  it  and  later  learned  from  the  Navajo 
Indians  that  it  was  very  valuable. 

113 


GERONIMO 

Every  day  they  measured  land  with  curi- 
ous instruments  and  put  down  marks  which 
we  could  not  understand.  They  were  good 
men,  and  we  were  sorry  when  they  had  gone 
on  into  the  west.  They  were  not  soldiers. 
These  were  the  first  white  men  I  ever  saw. 

About  ten  years  later  some  more  white 
men  came.  These  were  all  warriors.  They 
made  their  camp  on  the  Gila  River  south  of 
Hot  Springs.  At  first  they  were  friendly 
and  we  did  not  dislike  them,  but  they  were 
not  as  good  as  those  who  came  first. 

After  about  a  year  some  trouble  arose 
between  them  and  the  Indians,  and  I  took 
the  warpath  as  a  warrior,  not  as  a  chief.1  I 
had  not  been  wronged,  but  some  of  my  peo- 
ple had  been,  and  I  fought  with  my  tribe; 
for  the  soldiers  and  not  the  Indians  were  at 
fault. 

Not  long  after  this  some  of  the  officers 
of  the   United   States   troops  invited   our 

i  As  a  tribe  they  would  fight  under  their  tribal  chief, 
Mangus-Colorado.  If  several  tribes  had  been  called  out,  the 
war  chief,  Geronimo,  would  have  commanded. 

114 


THE   WHITE    MEN 

leaders  to  hold  a  conference  at  Apache  Pass 
(Fort  Bowie).  Just  before  noon  the  In- 
dians were  shown  into  a  tent  and  told  that 
they  would  be  given  something  to  eat. 
When  in  the  tent  they  were2  attacked  by 
soldiers.  Our  chief,  Mangus- Colorado, 
and  several  other  warriors,  by  cutting 
through  the  tent,  escaped;  but  most  of  the 
warriors  were  killed  or  captured.  Among 
the  Bedonkohe  Apaches  killed  at  this  time 
were  Sanza,  Kladetahe,  Niyokahe,  and 
Gopi.  After  this  treachery  the  Indians 
went  back  to  the  mountains  and  left  the 

2  Regarding  this  attack,  Mr.  L.  C.  Hughes,  editor  of 
The  Star,  Tucson,  Arizona,  to  whom  I  was  referred  by 
General  Miles,  writes  as  follows: 

*'It  appears  that  Cochise  and  his  tribe  had  been  on  the 
warpath  for  some  time  and  he  with  a  number  of  sub- 
ordinate chiefs  was  brought  into  the  military  camp  at 
Bowie  under  the  promise  that  a  treaty  of  peace  was  to 
Ito  held,  when  they  were  taken  into  a  large  tent  where 
handcuffs  were  put  upon  them.  Cochise,  seeing  this,  cut 
his  way  through  the  tent  and  fled  to  the  mountains;  and 
in  less  than  six  hours  had  surrounded  the  camp  with  from 
three  to  five  hundred  warriors;  but  the  soldiers  refused  to 
make  fight/' 

115 


GERONIMO 

fort  entirely  alone.  I  do  not  think  that  the 
agent  had  anything  to  do  with  planning 
this,  for  he  had  always  treated  us  well.  I 
believe  it  was  entirely  planned  by  the 
soldiers. 

From3  the  very  first  the  soldiers  sent  out 
to  our  western  country,  and  the  officers  in 
charge  of  them,  did  not  hesitate  to  wrong 
the  Indians.  They  never  explained  to  the 
Government  when  an  Indian  was  wronged, 
but  always  reported  the  misdeeds  of  the  In- 
dians. Much  that  was  done  by  mean  white 
men  was  reported  at  Washington  as  the 
deeds  of  my  people. 

The  Indians  always  tried  to  live  peace- 
ably with  the  white  soldiers  and  settlers. 
One  day  during  the  time  that  the  soldiers 
were  stationed  at  Apache  Pass  I  made  a 
treaty  with  the  post.  This  was  done  by  shak- 
ing hands  and  promising  to  be  brothers. 
Cochise  and  Mangus- Colorado  did  likewise. 

*  This  sweeping  statement  is  more  general  than  we  are 
willing  to  concede,  yet  it  may  be  more  nearly  true  than 
our  own  accounts. 

116 


THE   WHITE   MEN 

I  do  not  know  the  name  of  the  officer  in 
command,  but  this  was  the  first  regiment 
that  ever  came  to  Apache  Pass.  This  treaty 
was  made  about  a  year  before  we  were  at- 
tacked in  a  tent,  as  above  related.  In  a  few 
days  after  the  attack  at  Apache  Pass  we  or- 
ganized in  the  mountains  and  returned  to 
fight  the  soldiers.  There  were  two  tribes — 
the  Bedonkohe  and  the  Chokonen  Apaches, 
both  commanded  by  Cochise.  After  a  few 
days'  skirmishing  we  attacked  a  freight  train 
that  was  coming  in  with  supplies  for  the 
Fort.  We  killed  some  of  the  men  and  cap- 
tured the  others.  These  prisoners  our  chief 
offered  to  trade  for  the  Indians  whom  the 
soldiers  had  captured  at  the  massacre  in  the 
tent.  This  the  officers  refused,  so  we  killed 
our  prisoners,  disbanded,  and  went  into  hid- 
ing in  the  mountains.  Of  those  who  took 
part  in  this  affair  I  am  the  only  one  now 
living. 

In  a  few  days  troops  were  sent  out  to 
search  for  us,  but  as  we  were  disbanded,  it 

117 


GERONIMO 

was,  of  course,  impossible  for  them  to  locate 

any  hostile  camp.     During  the  time  they 

were  searching  for  us  many  of  our  war- 

yv  riors  (who  were  thought  by  the  soldiers  to 

£  be  peaceable  Indians)  talked  to  the  officers 
and  men,  advising  them  where  they  might 
find  the  camp  they  sought,  and  while  they 
searched  we  watched  them  from  our  hiding 
places  and  laughed  at  their  failures. 

VL  After  this  trouble  all  of  the  Indians 
agreed  not  to  be  friendly  with  the  white  men 
any  more.  There  was  no  general  engage- 
ment, but  a  long  struggle  followed.  Some- 
times we  attacked  the  white  men — sometimes 
they  attacked  us.  First  a  few  Indians 
would  be  killed  and  then  a  few  soldiers.  I 
think  the  killing  was  about  equal  on  each 
side.  The  number  killed  in  these  troubles 
did  not  amount  to  much,  but  this  treachery 
on  the  part  of  the  soldiers  had  angered  the 
Indians  and  revived  memories  of  other 
wrongs,  so  that  we  never  again  trusted  the 
United  States  troops. 

118 


Quanah  Parker 
Chief  of  Comanche  Indians 


CHAPTER   XIV 

GREATEST  OF  WRONGS 

PERHAPS  the  greatest  wrong  ever  f 
done  to  the  Indians  was  the  treat- 
ment received  by  our  tribe  from  the  United 
States  troops  about  1863.  The  chief  of  our 
tribe,  Mangus-Colorado,  went  to  make  a 
treaty  of  peace  for  our  people  with  the 
white  settlement  at  Apache  Tejo,  New  Mex- 
ico. It  had  been  reported  to  us  that  the 
white  men  in  this  settlement  were  more 
friendly  and  more  reliable  than  those  in  Ari- 
zona, that  they  would  live  up  to  their  treaties 
and  would  not  wrong  the  Indians. 

Mangus-Colorado,  with  three  other  war- 
riors, went  to  Apache  Tejo  and  held  a  coun- 
cil with  these  citizens  and  soldiers.  They 
told  him  that  if  he  would  come  with  his  tribe 
and  live  near  them,  they  would  issue  to  him, 
from  the  Government,  blankets,  flour,  pro- 

119 


GERONIMO 

visions,  beef,  and  all  manner  of  supplies. 
Our  chief  promised  to  return  to  Apache 
Tejo  within  two  weeks.  When  he  came 
back  to  our  settlement  he  assembled  the 
whole  tribe  in  council.  I  did  not  believe  that 
the  people  at  Apache  Tejo  would  do  as  they 
said  and  therefore  I  opposed  the  plan,  but 
it  was  decided  that  with  part  of  the  tribe 
Mangus-Colorado  should  return  to  Apache 
Tejo  and  receive  an  issue  of  rations  and  sup- 
plies. If  they  were  as  represented,  and  if 
these  white  men  would  keep  the  treaty  faith- 
fully, the  remainder  of  the  tribe  would  join 
him  and  we  would  make  our  permanent  home 
at  Apache  Tejo.  I  was  to  remain  in  charge 
of  that  portion  of  the  tribe  which  stayed  in 
Arizona.  We  gave  almost  all  of  our  arms 
and  ammunition  to  the  party  going  to 
Apache  Tejo,  so  that  in  case  there  should 
be  treachery  they  would  be  prepared  for 
any  surprise.  Mangus-Colorado  and  about 
half  of  our  people  went  to  New  Mexico, 

happy  that  now  they  had  found  white  men 

120 


II 


GREATEST   OF    WRONGS 

who  would  be  kind  to  them,  and  with  whom 
they  could  live  in  peace  and  plenty. 

No  word  ever  came  to  us  from  them. 
From  other  sources,  however,  we  heard  that 
they  had  been  treacherously  *  captured  and 
slain.  In  this  dilemma  we  did  not  know  just 
exactly  what  to  do,  but  fearing  that  the 
troops  who  had  captured  them  would  attack 
us,  we  retreated  into  the  mountains  near 
Apache  Pass. 

During  the  weeks  that  followed  the  de- 
parture of  our  people  we  had  been  in  sus- 
pense, and  failing  to  provide  more  supplies, 
had  exhausted  all  of  our  store  of  provisions. 
This  was  another  reason  for  moving  camp. 
On  this  retreat,  while  passing  through  the 
mountains,  we  discovered  four  men  with  a 
herd  of  cattle.  Two  of  the  men  were  in 
front  in  a  buggy  and  two  were  behind  on 

i  General    Miles    telegraphed    from    Whipple    Barracks,} 
Arizona,   Sept.   24,   1886,  relative   to  the   surrender  of   the 
Apaches.     Among  other  things  he  said :  "  Mangus-Colorado 
had  years   ago  been   foully  murdered   after  he   had   sur-J 
rendered." 

121 


GERONIMO 

horseback.  We  killed  all  four,  but  did  not 
scalp  them;  they  were  not  warriors.  We 
drove  the  cattle  back  into  the  mountains, 
made  a  camp,  and  began  to  kill  the  cattle 
and  pack  the  meat. 

Before  we  had  finished  this  work  we  were 
surprised  and  attacked  by  United  States 
troops,  who  killed  in  all  seven  Indians — one 
warrior,  three  women,  and  three  children. 
The  Government  troops  were  mounted  and 
so  were  we,  but  we  were  poorly  armed,  hav- 
ing given  most  of  our  weapons  to  the  divi- 
sion of  our  tribe  that  had  gone  to  Apache 
iTejo,  so  we  fought  mainly  with  spears,  bows, 
and  arrows.  At  first  I  had  a  spear,  a  bow, 
and  a  few  arrows;  but  in  a  short  time  my 
spear  and  all  my  arrows  were  gone.  Once 
I  was  surrounded,  but  by  dodging  from  side 
to  side  of  my  horse  as  he  ran  I  escaped.  It 
was  necessary  during  this  fight  for  many  of 
the  warriors  to  leave  their  horses  and  escape 
on  foot.     But  my  horse  was  trained  to  come 

at  call,  and  as  soon  as  I  reached  a  safe  place, 

122 


GREATEST   OF    WRONGS 

if  not  too  closely  pursued,  I  would  call  him 
to  me.2  During  this  fight  we  scattered  in  all 
directions  and  two  days  later  reassembled  at 
our  appointed  place  of  rendezvous,  about 
fifty  miles  from  the  scene  of  this  battle. 

About  ten  days  later  the  same  United 
States  troops  attacked  our  new  camp  at  sun- 
rise. The  fight  lasted  all  day,  but  our  ar- 
rows and  spears  were  all  gone  before  ten 
o'clock,  and  for  the  remainder  of  the  day  we 
had  only  rocks  and  clubs  with  which  to  fight. 
We  could  do  little  damage  with  these  weap- 
ons, and  at  night  we  moved  our  camp  about 
four  miles  back  into  the  mountains  where  it 
would  be  hard  for  the  cavalry  to  follow  us. 
The  next  day  our  scouts,  who  had  been  left 
behind  to  observe  the  movements  of  the  sol- 
diers, returned,  saying  that  the  troops  had 
gone  back  toward  San  Carlos  Reservation. 

A  few  days  after  this  we  were  again  at- 
tacked   by    another    company    of    United 

2  Geronimo  often  calls  his  horses  to  him  in  Fort  Sill 
Reservation.  He  gives  only  one  shrill  note  and  they  run 
to  him  at  full  speed. 

123 


GERONIMO 

States  troops.  Just  before  this  fight  we  had 
been  joined  by  a  band  of  Chokonen  Indians 
under  Cochise,  who  took  command  of  both 
divisions.  We  were  repulsed,  and  decided 
to  disband. 

After  we  had  disbanded  our  tribe  the 
Bedonkohe  Apaches  reassembled  near  their 
old  camp  vainly  waiting  for  the  return  of 
Mangus-Colorado  and  our  kinsmen.  No 
tidings  came  save  that  they  had  all  been 
treacherously  slain.3  Then  a  council  was 
held,  and  as  it  was  believed  that  Mangus- 
Colorado  was  dead,  I  was  elected  Tribal 
Chief. 

For  a  long  time  we  had  no  trouble  with 
anyone.  It  was  more  than  a  year  after  I 
had  been  made  Tribal  Chief  that  United 
States  troops  surprised  and  attacked  our 
camp.  They  killed  seven  children,  five 
women,  and  four  warriors,  captured  all  our 

3  Regarding  the  killing  of  Mangus-Colorado,  "L.  C. 
Hughes  of  the  Tucson,  Ariz.,  Star,  writes  as  follows:  "It 
was  early  in  the  year  '63,  when  General  West  and  his 
troops    were   camped    near    Membras,   that   he    sent   Jack 

121- 


GREATEST   OF    WRONGS 

supplies,  blankets,  horses,  and  clothing,  and 
destroyed  our  tepees.  We  had  nothing  left ; 
winter  was  beginning,  and  it  was  the  cold- 
est winter  I  ever  knew.  After  the  soldiers 
withdrew  I  took  three  warriors  and  trailed 
them.  Their  trail  led  back  toward  San 
Carlos. 

Swilling,  a  scout,  to  bring  in  Mangus,  who  had  been  on 
the  warpath  ever  since  the  time  of  the  incident  with 
Cochise  at  Bowie.  The  old  chief  was  always  for  peace, 
and  gladly  accepted  the  proffer;  when  he  appeared  at  the 
camp  General  West  ordered  him  put  into  the  guard-house, 
in  which  there  was  only  a  small  opening  in  the  rear  and 
but  one  small  window.  As  the  old  chief  entered  he  said: 
4  This  is  my  end.  I  shall  never  again  hunt  over  the 
mountains  and  through  the  valleys  of  my  people.'  He 
felt  that  he  was  to  be  assassinated.  The  guards  were  given 
orders  to  shoot  him  if  he  attempted  to  escape.  He  lay 
down  and  tried  to  sleep,  but  during  the  night,  someone 
threw  a  large  stone  which  struck  him  in  the  breast.  He 
sprang  up  and  in  his  delirium  the  guards  thought  he  was 
attempting  escape  and  several  of  them  shot  him;  this  was 
the  end  of  Mangus. 

"  His  head  was  severed  from  his  body  by  a  surgeon, 
and  the  brain  taken  out  and  weighed.  The  head  meas- 
ured larger  than  that  of  Daniel  Webster,  and  the  brain 
was  of  corresponding  weight.  The  skull  was  sent  to 
Washington,  and  is  now  on  exhibition  at  the  Smith- 
sonian Institution." 

125 


CHAPTER  XV 

REMOVALS 

WHILE  returning  from  trailing  the 
Government  troops  we  saw  two 
men,  a  Mexican  and  a  white  man,  and  shot 
them  off  their  horses.  With  these  two 
horses  we  returned  and  moved  our  camp. 
My  people  were  suffering  much  and  it  was 
deemed  advisable  to  go  where  we  could  get 
more  provisions.  Game  was  scarce  in  our 
range  then,  and  since  I  had  been  Tribal 
Chief  I  had  not  asked  for  rations  from  the 
Government,  nor  did  I  care  to  do  so,  but  we 
did  not  wish  to  starve. 

We  had  heard  that  Chief  Victoria  of  the 
Chihenne  (Oje  Caliente)  Apaches  was  hold- 
ing a  council  with  the  white  men  near  Hot 
Springs  in  New  Mexico,  and  that  he  had 
plenty  of  provisions.    We  had  always  been 

126 


REMOVALS 

on  friendly  terms  with  this  tribe,  and  Vic- 
toria was  especially  kind  to  my  people. 
With  the  help  of  the  two  horses  we  had  cap- 
tured, to  carry  our  sick  with  us,  we  went  to 
Hot  Springs.  We  easily  found  Victoria 
and  his  band,  and  they  gave  us  supplies  for 
the  winter.  We  stayed  with  them  for  about 
a  year,  and  during  this  stay  we  had  perfect 
peace.  We  had  not  the  least  trouble  with 
Mexicans,  white  men,  or  Indians.  When  we 
had  stayed  as  long  as  we  should,  and  had 
again  accumulated  some  supplies,  we  de- 
cided to  leave  Victoria's  band.  When  I  told 
him  that  we  were  going  to  leave  he  said  that 
we  should  have  a  feast  and  dance  before  we 
separated. 

The  festivities  were  held  about  two  miles 
above  Hot  Springs,  and  lasted  for  four 
days.  There  were  about  four  hundred  In- 
dians at  this  celebration.  I  do  not  think  we 
ever  spent  a  more  pleasant  time  than  upon 
this  occasion.  No  one  ever  treated  our  tribe 
more  kindly  than  Victoria  and  his  band.    We 

127 


GERONIMO 

are  still  proud  to  say  that  he  and  his  people 
were  our  friends. 

When  I  went  to  Apache  Pass  (Fort 
Bowie)  I  found  General  Howard  *  in  com- 
mand, and  made  a  treaty  with  him.  This 
treaty  lasted  until  long  after  General  How- 
ard had  left  our  country.  He  always  kept 
his  word  with  us  and  treated  us  as  brothers. 
We  never  had  so  good  a  friend  among  the 
United  States  officers  as  General  Howard. 
We  could  have  lived  forever  at  peace  with 
him.  If  there  is  any  pure,  honest  white  man 
in  the  United  States  army,  that  man  is  Gen- 
eral Howard.  All  the  Indians  respect  him, 
and  even  to  this  day  frequently  talk  of  the 
happy  times  when  General  Howard  was  in 
command  of  our  Post.  After  he  went  away 
he  placed  an  agent  at  Apache  Pass  who  is- 

i  General  O.  O.  Howard  was  not  in  command,  but  had 
been  sent  by  President  Grant,  in  1872,  to  make  peace  with 
the  Apache  Indians.  The  general  wrote  me  from  Burling- 
ton, Vt.,  under  date  of  June  12,  1906,  that  he  remembered 
the  treaty,  and  that  he  also  remembered  with  much  satisfac- 
tion subsequently  meeting  Geronimo. — Editor. 

128 


REMOVALS 

sued  to  us  from  the  Government  clothing, 
rations,  and  supplies,  as  General  Howard 
directed.  When  beef  was  issued  to  the  In- 
dians I  got  twelve  steers  for  my  tribe,  and 
Cochise  got  twelve  steers  for  his  tribe.  Ra- 
tions were  issued  about  once  a  month,  but 
if  we  ran  out  we  only  had  to  ask  and  we 
were  supplied.  Now,  as  prisoners  of  war  in 
this  Reservation,  we  do  not  get  such  good 
rations.2 

Out  on  the  prairie  away  from  Apache 
Pass  a  man  kept  a  store  and  saloon.  Some 
time  after  General  Howard  went  away  a 
band  of  outlawed  Indians  killed  this  man, 
and  took  away  many  of  the  supplies  from 
his  store.  On  the  very  next  day  after  this 
some  Indians  at  the  Post  were  drunk  on 
"tiswin,"  which  they  had  made  from  corn. 
They  fought  among  themselves  and  four  of 
them  were  killed.  There  had  been  quarrels 
and  feuds  among  them  for  some  time,  and 

2  They  do  not  receive  full  rations  now,  as  they  did  then. 

129 


GEROXIMO 

after  this  trouble  we  deemed  it  impossible  to 
keep  the  different  bands  together  in  peace. 
Therefore  we  separated,  each  leader  taking 
his  own  band.  Some  of  them  went  to  San 
Carlos  and  some  to  Old  Mexico,  but  I  took 
my  tribe  back  to  Hot  Springs  and  rejoined 
Victoria's  band. 


ISO 


XVI 

IN   PRISON  AND  ON  THE   WARPATH 

SOON  after  we  arrived  in  New  Mexico 
two  companies  of  scouts  were  sent 
from  San  Carlos.  When  they  came  to  Hot 
Springs  they  sent  word  for  me  and  Victoria 
to  come  to  town.  The  messengers  did  not 
say  what  they  wanted  with  us,  but  as  they 
seemed  friendly  we  thought  they  wanted  a 
council,  and  rode  in  to  meet  the  officers.  As 
soon  as  we  arrived  in  town  soldiers  met  us, 
disarmed  us,  and  took  us  both  to  headquar- 
ters, where  we  were  tried  by  court-martial. 
They  asked  us  only  a  few  questions  and  then 
Victoria  was  released  and  I  was  sentenced 
to  the  guardhouse.  Scouts  conducted  me  to 
the  guardhouse  and  put  me  in  chains.  When 
I  asked  them  why  they  did  this  they  said 
it  was  because  I  had  left  Apache  Pass. 

131 


A 


GERONIMO 

I  do  not  think  that  I  ever  belonged  to 
those  soldiers  at  Apache  Pass,  or  that  I 
should  have  asked  them  where  I  might  go. 
Our  bands  could  no  longer  live  in  peace 1  to- 
gether, and  so  we  had  quietly  withdrawn, 
expecting  to  live  with  Victoria's  band,  where 
we  thought  we  would  not  be  molested.  They 
also  sentenced  seven  other  Apaches  to  chains 
in  the  guardhouse. 

I  do  not  know  why  this  was  done,  for 
these  Indians  had  simply  followed  me  from 
Apache  Pass  to  Hot  Springs.  If  it  was 
wrong  (and  I  do  not  think  it  was  wrong) 
for  us  to  go  to  Hot  Springs,  I  alone  was  to 
blame.  They  asked  the  soldiers  in  charge 
why  they  were  imprisoned  and  chained,  but 
received  no  answer. 

I  was  kept  a  prisoner  for  four  months, 
during  which  time  I  was  transferred  to  San 

l  Victoria,  chief  of  the  Hot  Spring  Apaches,  met  his 
death  in  opposing  the  forcible  removal  of  his  band  to  a 
reservation,  because  having  previously  tried  and  failed  he 
felt  it  impossible  for  separate  bands  of  Apaches  to  live  at 
peace  under  such  arrangement. 

132 


ON   THE  WARPATH 

Carlos.  Then  I  think  I  had  another  trial, 
although  I  was  not  present.  In  fact  I  do 
not  know  that  I  had  another  trial,  but  I  was 
told  that  I  had,  and  at  any  rate  I  was  re- 
leased. 

After  this  we  had  no  more  trouble  with 
the  soldiers,  but  I  never  felt  at  ease  any 
longer  at  the  Post.  We  were  allowed  to  live 
above  San  Carlos  at  a  place  now  called 
Geronimo.  A  man  whom  the  Indians 
called  "  Nick  Golee  "  was  agent  at  this  place. 
All  went  well  here  for  a  period  of  two  years, 
but  we  were  not  satisfied. 

In  the  summer  of  1883  a  rumor  was  cur- 
rent that  the  officers  were  again  planning  to 
imprison  our  leaders.  This  rumor  served 
to  revive  the  memory  of  all  our  past  wrongs 
— the  massacre  in  the  tent  at  Apache  Pass, 
the  fate  of  Mangus- Colorado,  and  my  own 
unjust  imprisonment,  which  might  easily 
have  been  death  to  me.  Just  at  this  time  we 
were  told  that  the  officers  wanted  us  to  come 
up  the  river  above  Geronimo  to  a  fort  (Fort 

133 


GERONIMO 

Tholnas)  to  hold  a  council  with  them.  We 
did  not  believe  that  any  good  could  come  of 
this  conference,  or  that  there  was  any  need 
of  it;  so  we  held  a  council  ourselves,  and 
fearing  treachery,  decided  to  leave  the  reser- 
vation. We  thought  it  more  manly  to  die 
on  the  warpath  than  to  be  killed  in  prison. 

There  were  in  all  about  250  Indians, 
chiefly  the  Bedonkohe  and  Nedni  Apaches, 
led  by  myself  and  Whoa.  We  went  through 
Apache  Pass  and  just  west  of  there  had  a 
fight  with  the  United  States  troops.  In  this 
battle  we  killed  three  soldiers  and  lost  none. 

We  went  on  toward  Old  Mexico,  but  on 
the  second  day  after  this  United  States  sol- 
diers overtook  us  about  three  o'clock  in  the 
afternoon  and  we  fought  until  dark.  The 
ground  where  we  were  attacked  was  very 
rough,  which  was  to  our  advantage,  for  the 
troops  were  compelled  to  dismount  in  order 
to  fight  us.  I  do  not  know  how  many  sol- 
diers we  killed,  but  we  lost  only  one  warrior 
and  three  children.    We  had  plenty  of  guns 

134 


ON    THE   WARPATH 

and  ammunition  at  this  time.  Many  of  the 
guns  and  much  ammunition  we  had  accumu- 
lated while  living  in  the  reservation,  and  the 
remainder  we  had  obtained  from  the  White 
Mountain  Apaches  when  we  left  the  reser- 
vation. 

Troops  did  not  follow  us  any  longer, 
so  we  went  south  almost  to  Casa  Grande 
and  camped  in  the  Sierra  de  Sahuaripa 
Mountains.  We  ranged  in  the  mountains 
of  Old  Mexico  for  about  a  year,  then  re- 
turned to  San  Carlos,  taking  with  us  a  herd 
of  cattle  and  horses. 

Soon  after  we  arrived  at  San  Carlos  the 
officer  in  charge,  General  Crook,  took  the 
horses  and  cattle  away  from  us.  I  told  him 
that  these  were  not  white  men's  cattle,  but 
belonged  to  us,  for  we  had  taken  them  from 
the  Mexicans  during  our  wars.  I  also  told 
him  that  we  did  not  intend  to  kill  these  ani- 
mals, but  that  we  wished  to  keep  them  and 
raise  stock  on  our  range.  He  would  not  lis- 
ten to  me,  but  took  the  stock.    I  went  up 

135 


GERONIMO 

near  Forth  Apache  and  General  Crook  or- 
dered officers,  soldiers,  and  scouts  to  see  that 
I  was  arrested;  if  I  offered  resistance  they 
were  instructed  to  kill  me. 

This  information  was  brought  to  me  by 
the  Indians.  When  I  learned  of  this  pro- 
posed action  I  left  for  Old  Mexico,  and 
about  four  hundred  Indians  went  with  me. 
They  were  the  Bedonkohe,  Chokonen,  and 
Nedni  Apaches.  At  this  time  Whoa  was 
dead,  and  Naiche  was  the  only  chief  with 
me.  We  went  south  into  Sonora  and  camped 
in  the  mountains.  Troops  followed  us,  but 
did  not  attack  us  until  we  were  camped  in 
the  mountains  west  of  Casa  Grande.  Here 
we  were  attacked  by  Government  Indian 
scouts.  One  boy  was  killed  and  nearly  all  of 
our  women  and  children  were  captured.2 

After  this  battle  we  went  south  of  Casa 
Grande  and  made  a  camp,  but  within  a  few 
days  this  camp  was  attacked  by  Mexican 

2  Geronimo's   whole    family,   excepting   his   eldest   son,   a 
warrior,  were  captured. 

136 


ON    THE  WARPATH 

soldiers.  We  skirmished  with  them  all  day, 
killing  a  few  Mexicans,  but  sustaining  no 
loss  ourselves.  B 

That  night  we  went  east  into  the  foothills 
of  the  Sierra  Madre  Mountains  and  made 
another  camp.  Mexican  troops  trailed  us, 
and  after  a  few  days  attacked  our  camp 
again.  This  time  the  Mexicans  had  a  very 
large  army,  and  we  avoided  a  general  en- 
gagement. It  is  senseless  to  fight  when  you 
cannot  hope  to  win. 

That  night  we  held  a  council  of  war;  our 
scouts  had  reported  bands  of  United  States 
and  Mexican  troops  at  many  points  in  the 
mountains.  We  estimated  that  about  two 
thousand  soldiers  were  ranging  these  moun- 
tains seeking  to  capture  us. 

General  Crook  had  come  down  into  Mex- 
ico with  the  United  States  troops.  They 
were  camped  in  the  Sierra  de  Antunez 
Mountains.  Scouts  told  me  that  General 
Crook  wished  to  see  me  and  I  went  to  his 
camp.    When  I  arrived  General  Crook  said 

137 


4 


GERONIMO 

to  me,  "  Why  did  you  leave  the  reserva- 
tion? "  I  said:  "  You  told  me  that  I  might 
live  in  the  reservation  the  same  as  white  peo- 
ple lived.  One  year  I  raised  a  crop  of  corn, 
and  gathered  and  stored  it,  and  the  next  year 
I  put  in  a  crop  of  oats,  and  when  the  crop 
was  almost  ready  to  harvest,  you  told  your 
soldiers  to  put  me  in  prison,  and  if  I  resisted 
to  kill  me.  If  I  had  been  let  alone  I  would 
now  have  been  in  good  circumstances,  but 
instead  of  that  you  and  the  Mexicans  are 
hunting  me  with  soldiers."  He  said:  "I 
never  gave  any  such  orders;  the  troops  at 
Fort  Apache,  who  spread  this  report,  knew 
that  it  was  untrue."  Then  I  agreed  to  go 
back  with  him  to  San  Carlos. 

It  was  hard  for  me  to  believe  him  at  that 
time.  Now  I  know  that  what  he  said  was 
untrue,3  and  I  firmly  believe  that  he  did  issue 
the  orders  for  me  to  be  put  in  prison,  or  to 
be  killed  in  case  I  offered  resistance. 

sGeronimo's  exact  words,  for  which  the  Editor  disclaims 
any  responsibility. 

138 


CHAPTER   XVII 

THE  FINAL  STRUGGLE 

WE  started  with  all  our  tribe  to  go 
with  General  Crook  back  to  the 
United  States,  but  I  feared  treachery  and 
decided  to  remain  in  Mexico.  We  were 
not  under  any  guard  at  this  time.  The 
United  States  troops  marched  in  front  and 
the  Indians  followed,  and  when  we  became 
suspicious,  we  turned  back.  I  do  not  know 
how  far  the  United  States  army  went  after 
myself,  and  some  warriors  turned  back  be- 
fore we  were  missed,  and  I  do  not  care. 

I  have  suffered  much  from  such  unjust 
orders  as  those  of  General  Crook.  Such  acts 
have  caused  much  distress  to  my  people.  I 
think  that  General  Crook's  death 1  was  sent 

i  These  are  the  exact  words  of  Geronimo.    The  Editor  is 
not  responsible  for  this  criticism  of  General  Crook. 

139 


GERONIMO 

by  the  Almighty  as  a  punishment  for  the 
many  evil  deeds  he  committed. 

Soon  General  Miles  was  made  comman- 
der of  all  the  western  posts,  and  troops 
trailed  us  continually.  They  were  led  by 
Captain  Lawton,  who  had  good  scouts.  The 
Mexican2  soldiers  also  became  more  active 
and  more  numerous.  We  had  skirmishes 
almost  every  day,  and  so  we  finally  decided 
to  break  up  into  small  bands.  With  six  men 
and  four  women  I  made  for  the  range  of 
mountains  near  Hot  Springs,  New  Mex- 
ico. We  passed  many  cattle  ranches,  but 
had  no  trouble  with  the  cowboys.  We  killed 
cattle  to  eat  whenever  we  were  in  need  of 
food,  but  we  frequently  suffered  greatly 
for  water.  At  one  time  we  had  no  water  for 
two  days  and  nights  and  our  horses  almost 
died  from  thirst.  We  ranged  in  the  moun- 
tains of  New  Mexico  for  some  time,  then 
thinking  that  perhaps  the  troops  had  left 

2  Governor   Torres   of   Sonora  had   agreed   to   cooperate 
with  our  troops  in  exterminating  or  capturing  this  tribe. 

140 


THE    FINAL   STRUGGLE 

Mexico,  we  returned.  On  our  return  through 
Old  Mexico  we  attacked  every  Mexican 
found,  even  if  for  no  other  reason  than  to 
kill.  We  believed  they  had  asked  the  United 
States  troops  to  come  down  to  Mexico  to 
fight  us. 

South  of  Casa  Grande,  near  a  place 
called  by  the  Indians  Gosoda,  there  was 
a  road  leading  out  from  the  town.  There 
was  much  freighting  carried  on  by  the  Mex- 
icans over  this  road.  Where  the  road  ran 
through  a  mountain  pass  we  stayed  in  hid- 
ing, and  whenever  Mexican  freighters 
passed  we  killed  them,  took  what  supplies 
we  wanted,  and  destroyed  the  remainder. 
We  were  reckless  of  our  lives,  because  we 
felt  that  every  man's  hand  was  against  us. 
If  we  returned  to  the  reservation  we  would 
be  put  in  prison  and  killed;  if  we  stayed  in  ' 
Mexico  they  would  continue  to  send  soldiers  \ 
to  fight  us ;  so  we  gave  no  quarter  to  anyone 
and  asked  no  favors. 

After  some  time  we  left   Gosoda   and 

141 


-\ 


GERONIMO 

soon  were  reunited  with  our  tribe  in  the 
Sierra  de  Antunez  Mountains. 

Contrary  to  our  expectations  the  United 
States  soldiers  had  not  left  the  mountains  in 
Mexico,  and  were  soon  trailing  us  and  skir- 
mishing with  us  almost  every  day.  Four  or 
five  times  they  surprised  our  camp.  One 
time  they  surprised  us  about  nine  o'clock  in 
the  morning,  and  captured  all  our  horses  3 
(nineteen  in  number)  and  secured  our  store 
of  dried  meats.  We  also  lost  three  Indians 
in  this  encounter.  About  the  middle  of  the 
afternoon  of  the  same  day  we  attacked  them 
from  the  rear  as  they  were  passing  through 
a  prairie — killed  one  soldier,  but  lost  none 
ourselves.  In  this  skirmish  we  recovered  all 
our  horses  except  three  that  belonged  to  me. 
The  three  horses  that  we  did  not  recover 
were  the  best  riding  horses  we  had. 

Soon  after  this  we  made  a  treaty  with  the 

3  Captain  Lawton  reports  officially  the  same  engagement 
(see  page  151),  but  makes  no  mention  of  the  recapture  (by  the 
Apaches)  of  the  horses. 

142 


THE   FINAL   STRUGGLE 

Mexican  troops.  They  told  us  that  the 
United  States  troops  were  the  real  cause  of 
these  wars,  and  agreed  not  to  fight  any  more 
with  us  provided  we  would  return  to  the 
United  States.  This  we  agreed  to  do, 
and  resumed  our  march,  expecting  to  try  to 
make  a  treaty  with  the  United  States  sol- 
diers and  return  to  Arizona.  There  seemed 
to  be  no  other  course  to  pursue. 

Soon  after  this  scouts  from  Captain  Law- 
ton's  troops  told  us  that  he  wished  to  make 
a  treaty  with  us;  but  I  knew  that  General 
Miles  was  the  chief  of  the  American  troops, 
and  I  decided  to  treat  with  him. 

We  continued  to  move  our  camp  north- 
ward, and  the  American  troops  also  moved 
northward,4  keeping  at  no  great  distance 
from  us,  but  not  attacking  us. 

I  sent  my  brother  Porico  (White  Horse) 
with  Mr.  George  Wratton  on  to  Fort  Bowie 
to  see  General  Miles,  and  to  tell  him  that 

4  See  page  154. 


143 


GERONIMO 

we  wished  to  return  to  Arizona;  but  before 
these  messengers  returned  I  met  two  Indian 
scouts — Kayitah,  a  Chokonen  Apache,  and 
Marteen,  a  Nedni  Apache.  They  were  serv- 
ing as  scouts  for  Captain  Lawton's  troops. 
They  told  me  that  General  Miles  had  come 
and  had  sent  them  to  ask  me  to  meet  him. 
So  I  went  to  the  camp  of  the  United  States 
troops  to  meet  General  Miles. 

When  I  arrived  at  their  camp  I  went  di- 
rectly to  General  Miles  and  told  him  how  I 
had  been  wronged,  and  that  I  wanted  to  re- 
turn to  the  United  States  with  my  people, 
as  we  wished  to  see  our  families,  who  had 
been  captured 5  and  taken  away  from  us. 

General  Miles  said  to  me :  "  The  Presi- 
dent of  the  United  States  has  sent  me  to 
speak  to  you.  He  has  heard  of  your  trou- 
ble with  the  white  men,  and  says  that  if  you 
will  agree  to  a  few  words  of  treaty  we  need 
have  no  more  trouble.  Geronimo,  if  you 
will  agree  to  a  few  words  of  treaty  all  will 
be  satisfactorily  arranged." 

BSee  page  136. 
144 


GOTEBO 

War  Chief,  Kiowa  Indians 


THE    FINAL   STRUGGLE 

So  General  Miles  told  me  how  we  could 
be  brothers  to  each  other.  We  raised  our 
hands  to  heaven  and  said  that  the  treaty  was 
not  to  be  broken.  We  took  an  oath  not  to 
do  any  wrong  to  each  other  or  to  scheme 
against  each  other. 

Then  he  talked  with  me  for  a  long  time 
and  told  me  what  he  would  do  for  me  in  the 
future  if  I  would  agree  to  the  treaty.  I  did 
not  greatly  believe  General  Miles,  but  be- 
cause the  President  of  the  United  States 
had  sent  me  word  I  agreed  to  make  the 
treaty,  and  to  keep  it.  Then  I  asked  Gen- 
eral Miles  what  the  treaty  would  be.  Gen- 
eral Miles  said  to  me : 6  "I  will  take  you 
under  Government  protection;  I  will  build 
you  a  house;  I  will  fence  you  much  land; 
I  will  give  you  cattle,  horses,  mules,  and 
farming  implements.  You  will  be  fur- 
nished with  men  to  work  the  farm,  for  you 
yourself  will  not  have  to  work.  In  the  fall 
I  will  send  you  blankets  and  clothing  so  that 

o  For  terms  of  treaty  see  page  154. 

145 


GERONIMO 

you  will  not  suffer  from  cold  in  the  winter 
time. 

"  There  is  plenty  of  timber,  water,  and 
grass  in  the  land  to  which  I  will  send  you. 
You  will  live  with  your  tribe  and  with  your 
family.  If  you  agree  to  this  treaty  you  shall 
see  your  family  within  five  days." 

I  said  to  General  Miles:  "All  the  of- 
ficers that  have  been  in  charge  of  the  Indians 
have  talked  that  way,  and  it  sounds  like  a 
story  to  me;  I  hardly  believe  you." 

He  said:  "  This  time  it  is  the  truth." 

I  said :  "  General  Miles,  I  do  not  know 
the  laws  of  the  white  man,  nor  of  this  new 
country  where  you  are  to  send  me,  and  I 
might  break  their  laws." 

He  said:  "While  I  live  you  will  not  be 
arrested."  ^ 

Then  I  agreed  to  make  the  treaty. 
( Since  I  have  been  a  prisoner  of  war  I  have 
been  arrested  and  placed  in  the  guardhouse 
twice  for  drinking  whisky.) 

We  stood  between  his  troopers  and  my 

146 


THE    FINAL    STRUGGLE 

warriors.  We  placed  a  large  stone  on  the 
blanket  before  us.  Our  treaty  was  made  by 
this  stone,  and  it  was  to  last  until  the  stone 
should  crumble  to  dust;  so  we  made  the 
treaty,  and  bound  each  other  with  an  oath. 

I  do  not  believe  that  I  have  ever  violated 
that  treaty;  but  General  Miles7  never  ful- 
filled his  promises. 

When  we  had  made  the  treaty  General 
Miles  said  to  me:  "  My  brother,  you  have  in 
your  mind  how  you  are  going  to  kill  men, 
and  other  thoughts  of  war;  I  want  you  to 
put  that  out  of  your  mind,  and  change  your 
thoughts  to  peace." 

Then  I  agreed  and  gave  up  my  arms.  I 
said:  "  I  will  quit  the  warpath  and  live  at 
peace  hereafter." 

Then  General  Miles  swept  a  spot  of 
ground  clear  with  his  hand,  and  said:  "  Your 
past  deeds  shall  be  wiped  out  like  this  and 
you  will  start  a  new  life." 

i  The  criticisms  of  General  Miles  in  the  foregoing  chapter 
are  from  Geronimo,  not  from  the  Editor. 

147 


CHAPTER   XVIII 

SURRENDER   OF   GERONIMO 

ON  February  11,  1887,  the  Senate 
passed  the  following  resolution: 
"  Resolved,  That  the  Secretary  of  War 
be  directed  to  communicate  to  the  Senate  all 
dispatches  of  General  Miles  referring*  to  the 
surrender  of  Geronimo,  and  all  instruc- 
tions given  to  and  correspondence  with  Gen- 
eral Miles  in  reference  to  the  same."  These 
papers  are  published  in  the  Senate  Execu- 
tive Documents,  Second  Session,  49th  Con- 
gress, 1886-7,  Volume  II,  Nos.  Ill  to  125. 
For  an  exhaustive  account  of  the  conditions 
of  Geronimo's  surrender  the  reader  is  re- 
ferred to  that  document,  but  this  chapter  is 
given  to  show  briefly  the  terms  of  surrender, 
and  corroborate,  at  least  in  part,  the  state- 
ments made  by  Geronimo. 

148 


SURRENDER   OF    GERONIMO 

Upon  assuming  command  of  the  Depart- 
ment of  Arizona,  General  Nelson  A.  Miles 
was  directed  by  the  War  Department  to  use 
most  vigorous  operations  for  the  destruc- 
tion or  capture  of  the  hostile  Apaches. 

The  following  extracts  are  from  instruc- 
tions issued  April  20th,  1886,  for  the  in- 
formation and  guidance  of  troops  serving 
in  the  southern  portion  of  Arizona  and  New 
Mexico. 

"The  chief  object  of  the  troops  will  be 

to  capture  or  destroy  any  band  of  hostile 

Apache  Indians  found  in  this  section  of 

country,  and  to  this  end  the  most  vigorous 

and  persistent  efforts  will  be  required  of 

all  officers  and  soldiers  until  the  object  is 

accomplished." 

.  .  .  ' .  • 

"  A  sufficient  number  of  reliable  Indians 
will  be  used  as  auxiliaries  to  discover  any 
signs  of  hostile  Indians,  and  as  trailers." 


<< 


To  avoid  any  advantage  the  Indians 

149 


GERONIMO 

* 

may  have  by  a  relay  of  horses,  where  a 
troop  or  squadron  commander  is  near  the 
hostile  Indians  he  will  be  justified  in  dis- 
mounting one-half  of  his  command  and 
selecting  the  lightest  and  best  riders  to  make 
pursuit  by  the  most  vigorous  forced  marches 
until  the  strength  of  all  the  animals  of  his 

command  shall  have  been  exhausted." 
•  •  •  •  • 

The  following  telegrams  show  the  efforts 
of  the  United  States  troops  and  the  coop- 
eration of  Mexican  troops  under  Governor 
Torres : 

"  Headquarters  Division  of  the  Pacific, 

"  Presidio  of  San  Francisco,  Cal. 

"July  22,  1886. 
"Adjutant  General, 

"Washington,  D.  C: 

"  The  following  telegram  just  received 
from  General  Miles: 

" '  Captain  Lawton  reports,  through 
Colonel  Royall,  commanding  at  Fort 
Huachuca,   that   his    camp    surprised   Ge- 

150 


SURRENDER   OF    GERONIMO 

ronimo's  camp  on  Yongi  River,  about  130 
miles  south  and  east  of  Campas,  Sonora, 
or  nearly  300  miles  south  of  Mexican  boun- 
dary, capturing  all  the  Indian  property,  in- 
cluding hundreds  of  pounds  of  dried  meat 
and  nineteen  riding  animals.  This  is  the 
fifth  time  within  three  months  in  which  the 
Indians  have  been  surprised  by  the  troops. 
While  the  results  have  not  been  decisive, 
yet  it  has  given  encouragement  to  the 
troops,  and  has  reduced  the  numbers  and 
strength  of  the  Indians,  and  given  them  a 
feeling  of  insecurity  even  in  the  remote  and 
almost  inaccessible  mountains  of  Old 
Mexico.' 

"  In  absence  of  division  commander. 
I  "C.  McKeever, 

"Assistant  Adjutant  General." 


151 


GERONIMO 

"  Headquarters  Division  of  the  Pacific, 
"  Presidio  of  San  Francisco,  Cal. 

M  August  19,  1886. 
"Adjutant  General, 

"Washington,  D.  C: 

"  Following  received  from  General  Miles, 
dated  18th: 

" '  Dispatches  to-day  from  Governor 
Torres,  dated  Hermosillo,  Sonora,  Mexico, 
from  Colonels  Forsyth  and  Beaumont, 
commanding  Huachuca  and  Bowie  districts, 
confirms  the  following:  Geronimo  with 
forty  Indians  is  endeavoring  to  make  terms 
of  peace  with  Mexican  authorities  of  Fron- 
teraz  district.  One  of  our  scouts,  in  return- 
ing to  Fort  Huachuca  from  Lawton's 
command,  met  him,  Naiche,  and  thirteen 
other  Indians  on  their  way  to  Fronteraz ;  had 
a  long  conversation  with  them;  they  said  they 
wanted  to  make  peace,  and  looked  worn  and 
hungry.  Geronimo  carried  his  right  arm  in 
a  sling,  bandaged.  The  splendid  work  of 
the  troops  is  evidently  having  good  effect. 

152 


SURRENDER   OF    GERONIMO 

Should  hostiles  not  surrender  to  the  Mexican 
authorities,  Lawton's  command  is  south  of 
them,  and  Wilder,  with  G  and  M  troops, 
Fourth  Cavalry,  moved  south  to  Fronteraz, 
and  will  be  there  by  20th.  Lieutenant 
Lockett,  with  an  effective  command,  will 
be  in  good  position  to-morrow,  near  Guada- 
lupe Canon,  in  Cajon  Bonito  Mountains. 
On  the  11th  I  had  a  very  satisfactory  inter- 
view with  Governor  Torres.  The  Mexican 
officials  are  acting  in  concert  with  ours.' 

"  O.  O.  Howard, 
"Major  General." 

General  O.  O.  Howard  telegraphed  from 
[Presidio,  San  Francisco,  California,  Sep- 
tember 24,  1886,  as  follows: 

"...  The  6th  of  September  General 
Miles  reports  the  hostile  Apaches  made 
overtures  of  surrender,  through  Lieutenant 
Gatewood,  to  Captain  Lawton.  They  de- 
sired certain  terms  and  sent  two  messengers 
to  me  (Miles).     They  were  informed  that 

153 


GERONIMO 

they  must  surrender  as  prisoners  of  war  to 
troops  in  the  field.  They  promised  to  sur- 
render to  me  in  person,  and  for  eleven  days 
Captain  Lawton's  command  moved  north, 
Geronimo  and  Naiche  moving  parallel  and 
frequently  camping  near  it.  .  .  .  At 
Skeleton  Canon  they  halted,  saying  that 
they  desired  to  see  me  (Miles)  before  sur- 
rendering." 

After  Miles's  arrival  he  reports  as  fol- 
lows: 

"  Geronimo  came  from  his  mountain 
camp  amid  the  rocks  and  said  he  was  willing 
to  surrender.  He  was  told  that  they  could 
surrender  as  prisoners  of  war;  that  it  was 
not  the  way  of  officers  of  the  Army  to  kill 
their  enemies  who  laid  down  their  arms." 

".  .  .  Naiche  was  wild  and  suspi- 
cious and  evidently  feared  treachery.  He 
knew  that  the  once  noted  leader,  Mangus- 
Colorado,  had,  years  ago,  been  foully  mur- 
dered after  he  had  surrendered,  and  the  last 

154 


SURRENDER   OF    GERONIMO 

hereditary  chief  of  the  hostile  Apaches  hes- 
itated to  place  himself  in  the  hands  of  the 
palefaces.     .     •     ." 

Continuing  his  report,  General  Howard 
says: 

" .  .  .  I  believed  at  first  from  official 
reports  that  the  surrender  was  uncondi- 
tional, except  that  the  troops  themselves 
would  not  kill  the  hostiles.  Now,  from 
General  Miles's  dispatches  and  from  his  an- 
nual report,  forwarded  on  the  21st  instant 
by  mail,  the  conditions  are  plain:  First, 
that  the  lives  of  all  the  Indians  should  be 
spared.  Second,  that  they  should  be  sent 
to  Fort  Marion,  Florida,  where  their  tribe, 
including  their  families,  had  already  been 
ordered.     .     .     ." 

D.  S.  Stanley,  Brigadier  General,  tele- 
graphs from  San  Antonio,  Texas,  October 
22,  1886,  as  follows: 


<( 


Geronimo     and      Naiche     re- 

155 


GERONIMO 

quested  an  interview  with  me  when  they 
first  ascertained  that  they  were  to  leave  here, 
and  in  talking  to  them,  I  told  them  the 
exact  disposition  that  was  to  be  made  of 
them.  They  regarded  the  separation  of 
themselves  from  their  families  as  a  violation 
of  the  terms  of  their  treaty  of  surrender,  by 
which  they  had  been  guaranteed,  in  the  most 
positive  manner  conceivable  to  their  minds, 
that  they  should  be  united  with  their  fami- 
lies at  Fort  Marion. 

"  There  were  present  at  the  talk  they  had 
with  me  Major  J.  P.  Wright,  surgeon, 
United  States  Army;  Captain  J.  G.  Bal- 
lance,  acting  Judge-advocate,  United  States 
Army;  George  Wratton,1  the  interpreter; 
Naiche,  and  Geronimo. 

"  The  Indians  were  separated  from  their 
families  at  this  place;  the  women,  children, 

i  Mr.  George  Wratton  is  now  at  Fort  Sill,  Oklahoma, 
acting  as  Superintendent  of  Apaches.  He  has  been  with 
the  Apaches  as  interpreter  and  superintendent  since  their 
surrender. 

156 


SURRENDER   OF    GERONIMO 

and  the  two  scouts  were  placed  in  a  separate 
car  before  they  left. 

"  In  an  interview  with  me  they  stated  the 
following  incident,  which  they  regard  as  an 
essential  part  of  their  treaty  of  surrender, 
and  which  took  place  at  Skeleton  Canon 
before  they  had,  as  a  band,  made  up  their 
minds  to  surrender,  and  before  any  of  them, 
except  perhaps  Geronimo,  had  given  up 
their  arms,  and  when  they  were  still  fully 
able  to  escape  and  defend  themselves. 

"General  Miles  said  to  them:  'You  go 
with  me  to  Fort  Bowie  and  at  a  certain 
time  you  will  go  to  see  your  relatives  in 
Florida.'  After  they  went  to  Fort  Bowie 
he  reassured  them  that  they  would  see  their 
relatives  in  Florida  in  four  and  a  half  or 
five  days. 

"  While  at  Skeleton  Canon  General  Miles 
said  to  them:  '  I  have  come  to  have  a  talk 
with  you.'  The  conversation  was  inter- 
preted from  English  into  Spanish  and  from 
Spanish  into  Apache  and  vice  versa.    The 

157 


GERONIMO 

interpreting  from  English  into  Spanish  was 
done  by  a  man  by  the  name  of  Nelson.  The 
interpreting  from  Spanish  into  Apache  was 
done  by  Jose  Maria  Yaskes.  Jose  Maria 
Montoya  was  also  present,  but  he  did  not  do 
any  of  the  interpreting. 

"Dr.  Wood,  United  States  Army,  and 
Lieutenant  Clay,  Tenth  Infantry,  were 
present. 

"  General  Miles  drew  a  line  on  the  ground 
and  said,  '  This  represents  the  ocean,'  and, 
putting  a  small  rock  beside  the  line,  he  said, 
1  This  represents  the  place  where  Chihua- 
hua is  with  his  band.'  He  then  picked  up 
another  stone  and  placed  it  a  short  distance 
from  the  first,  and  said,  '  This  represents 
you,  Geronimo.'  He  then  picked  up  a  third 
stone  and  placed  it  a  little  distance  from 
the  others,  and  said,  '  This  represents  the 
Indians  at  Camp  Apache.  The  President 
wants  to  take  you  and  put  you  with  Chi- 
huahua.' He  then  picked  up  the  stone 
which  represented  Geronimo  and  his  band 

158 


SURRENDER   OF    GERONIMO 

and  put  it  beside  the  one  which  represented 
Chihuahua  at  Fort  Marion.  After  doing 
this  he  picked  up  the  stone  which  repre- 
sented the  Indians  at  Camp  Apache  and 
placed  it  beside  the  other  two  stones  which 
represented  Geronimo  and  Chihuahau  at 
Fort  Marion,  and  said,  *  That  is  what  the 
President  wants  to  do,  get  all  of  you  to- 
gether.' 

"  After  their  arrival  at  Fort  Bowie  Gen- 
eral Miles  said  to  them,  '  From  now  on  we 
want  to  begin  a  new  life,'  and  holding  up 
one  of  his  hands  with  the  palm  open  and 
horizontal  he  marked  lines  across  it  with 
the  finger  of  the  other  hand  and  said,  point- 
ing to  his  open  palm,  '  This  represents  the 
past;  it  is  all  covered  with  hollows  and 
ridges/  then,  rubbing  his  other  palm  over 
it,  he  said,  '  That  represents  the  wiping  out 
of  the  past,  which  will  be  considered  smooth 
and  forgotten.' 

"  The  interpreter,  Wratton,  says  that  he 
was   present   and  heard  this  conversation. 

159 


GERONIMO 

The  Indians  say  that  Captain  Thompson, 
Fourth  Cavalry,  was  also  present. 

"Naiche  said  that  Captain  Thompson, 
who  was  the  acting  assistant  adjutant  gen- 
eral, Department  of  Arizona,  told  him  at 
his  house  in  Fort  Bowie,  '  Don't  be  afraid ; 
no  harm  shall  come  to  you.  You  will  go  to 
your  friends  all  right.'  He  also  told  them 
1  that  Fort  Marion  is  not  a  very  large  place, 
and  is  not  probably  large  enough  for  all, 
and  that  probably  in  six  months  or  so  you 
will  be  put  in  a  larger  place,  where  you  can 
do  better.'  He  told  them  the  same  thing 
when  they  took  their  departure  in  the  cars 
from  Fort  Bowie. 

"  The  idea  that  they  had  of  the  treaty  of 
surrender  given  in  this  letter  is  forwarded 
at  their  desire,  and,  while  not  desiring  to 
comment  on  the  matter,  I  feel  compelled 
to  say  that  my  knowledge  of  the  Indian 
character,  and  the  experience  I  have  had 
with  Indians  of  all  kinds,  and  the  cor- 
roborating  circumstances    and    facts    that 

160 


SURRENDER   OF    GERONIMO 

have  been  brought  to  my  notice  in  this  par- 
ticular case,  convince  me  that  the  foregoing 
statement  of  Naiche  and  Geronimo  is  sub- 
stantially correct." 

Extract  from  the  annual  report  (1886) 
of  the  Division  of  the  Pacific,  commanded 
by  Major  General  O.  O.  Howard,  U.  S. 
Army. 

u  Headquarters  Division  of  the  Pacific, 
"  Presidio  of  San  Francisco,  Cal. 
"  September  17,  1886. 
"Adjutant  General, 

"U.  S.  Army,  Washington,  D.  C: 
"General:  I  have  the  honor  to  submit 
the  following  report  upon  military  opera- 
tions and  the  condition  of  the  Division  of 
the  Pacific  for  the  information  of  the  Lieu- 
tenant General,  and  to  make  some  sugges- 
tions for  his  consideration: 

.  «  •  .  . 

"  On  the  17th  of  May,  1885,  a  party  of 

about    fifty   of    the    Chiricahua   prisoners, 

161 


GERONIMO 

headed  by  Geronimo,  Naiche,  and  other 
chiefs,  escaped  from  the  White  Mountain 
Reserve,  in  Arizona,  and  entered  upon  a 
career  of  murder  and  robbery  unparalleled 
in  the  history  of  Indian  raids. 

"  Since  then,  and  up  to  the  time  of  my  as- 
suming command  of  this  division,  they  had 
been  pursued  by  troops  with  varying  suc- 
cess. 

"  After  the  assassination  of  Captain  Craw- 
ford, on  January  11,  by  the  Mexicans,  the 
hostiles  asked  for  a  '  talk,'  and  finally  had 
a  conference  on  March  25,  26,  and  27,  with 
General  Crook,  in  the  Canon  of  Los  Em- 
budos,  25  miles  south  of  San  Bernardino, 
Mexico,  on  which  latter  date  it  was  arranged 
that  they  should  be  conducted  by  Lieutenant 
Manus,  with  his  battalion  of  scouts,  to  Fort 
Bowie,  Ariz. 

"  The  march  commenced  on  the  morning 

^>  of  March  28  and  proceeded  until  the  night 

of  the  29th,  when,  becoming  excited  with 

fears    of    possible   punishment,    Geronimo 

162 


Emma  Tuki.oxkv 


[        SURRENDER   OF    GERONIMO 

and  Naiche,  with  twenty  men,  fourteen 
women,  and  two  boys,  stampeded  to  the 
hills.  Lieutenant  Manus  immediately  pur- 
sued, but  without  success. 

.  .  .  ' .  •  ■ 

"  Simultaneously  with  my  taking  com- 
mand of  the  division  Brigadier  General 
Crook  was  relieved  by  Brigadier  General 
Miles,  who  at  once  set  out  to  complete  the 
task  commenced  by  his  predecessor. 

"  Geronimo  and  his  band  were  committing 
depredations,  now  in  the  United  States  and 
now  in  Mexico,  and,  being  separated  into 
small  parties,  easily  eluded  the  troops,  and 
carried  on  their  work  of  murder  and  out- 
rage. 

"  Early  in  May  General  Miles  organized 
the  hostile  field  of  operations  into  districts, 
each  with  its  command  of  troops,  with  spe- 
cific instructions  to  guard  the  water  holes, 
to  cover  the  entire  ground  by  scouting  par- 
ties, and  give  the  hostiles  no  rest. 

"An  effective  command,  under  Captain 

163 


GERONIMO 

Lawton,  Fourth  Cavalry,  was  organized  for 
a  long  pursuit. 

"  On  May  3  Captain  Lebo,  Tenth  Cav- 
alry, had  a  fight  with  Geronimo's  band  12 
miles  southwest  of  Santa  Cruz,  in  Mexico, 
with  a  loss  of  one  soldier  killed  and  one 
wounded.  After  this  fight  the  Indians  re- 
treated southward  followed  by  three  troops 
of  cavalry. 

"  On  May  12  a  serious  fight  of  Mexican 
troops  with  the  hostiles  near  Planchos,  Mex- 
ico, resulted  in  a  partial  defeat  of  the  Mexi- 
cans. 

"  On  May  15  Captain  Hatfield's  com- 
mand engaged  Geronimo's  band  in  the 
Corrona  Mountains,  suffering  a  loss  of  two 
killed  and  three  wounded,  and  the  loss  of 
several  horses  and  mules,  the  Indians  losing 
several  killed. 

11  On  May  16  Lieutenant  Brown,  Fourth 
Cavalry,  struck  the  hostiles  near  Buena 
Vista,  Mexico,  capturing  several  horses, 
rifles,  and  a  quantity  of  ammunition. 

164 


SURRENDER   OF    GERONIMO 

"The  usual  series  of  outrages,  with  fa- 
tiguing chase  by  troops,  continued  until 
June  21,  when  the  Mexicans  engaged  the 
hostiles  about  40  miles  southeast  of  Magda- 
lena,  Mexico,  and  after  a  stubborn  fight  re- 
pulsed them.     .     .     . 

•  •  •  :  •  • 

"  About  the  middle  of  August  Geronimo 
and  his  band  were  so  reduced  and  harassed 
by  the  tireless  pursuit  of  the  soldiers  that 
they  made  offer  of  surrender  to  the  Mexi- 
cans, but  without  coming  to  terms. 

"  Their  locality  thus  being  definitely 
known,  disposition  of  the  troops  was  rapidly 
made  to  act  in  conjunction  with  the  Mexi- 
cans to  intercept  Geronimo  and  force  his 
surrender. 

"  On  August  25  Geronimo,  when  near 
Fronteraz,  Mexico,  recognizing  that  he  was 
pretty  well  surrounded,  and  being  out  of 
ammunition  and  food,  made  overtures  of 
capitulation,  through  Lieutenant  Gate- 
wood,  Sixth  Cavalry,  to  Captain  Lawton. 

165 


GERONIMO 

He  desired  certain  terms,  but  was  informed 
that  a  surrender  as  prisoner  of  war  was  all 
that  would  be  accepted. 

"  The  Indians  then  proceeded  to  the  vi- 
cinity of  Captain  Lawton's  command,  near 
Skeleton  Canon,  and  sent  word  that  they 
wished  to  see  General  Miles. 
*)  "  On  September  3  General  Miles  arrived 
at  Lawton's  camp,  and  on  September  4 
Naiche,  the  son  of  Cochise,  and  the  heredi- 
tary chief  of  the  Apaches,  with  Geronimo 
surrendered  all  the  hostiles,  with  the  under- 
standing, it  seems,  that  they  should  be  sent 
out  of  Arizona. 

"  I  am  not  informed  of  the  exact  nature 
of  this  surrender,  at  first  deemed  uncondi- 
tional. 


I  am,  sir,  very  respectfully,  your  obe- 
dient servant, 

"  O.  O.  Howard, 
"  Major  General,  United  States  Army." 


166 


SURRENDER   OF    GERONIMO 

Statement  of   W.   T.  Melton,  Ana&arko, 

Oklahoma. 

From  1882  to  1887  I  lived  in  southern 
Arizona,  and  was  employed  by  the  Sansi- 
mone  Cattle  Company. 

In  1886  I  was  stationed  in  Skeleton 
Canon,  about  10  miles  north  of  the  boun- 
dary line  between  Arizona  and  Old  Mexico, 
with  J.  D.  Prewitt.  It  was  our  duty  to  ride 
the  lines  south  of  our  range  and  keep  the 
cattle  of  the  Company  from  straying  into 
Old  Mexico. 

One  afternoon,  when  returning  from  our 
ride,  we  discovered  an  Indian  trail  leading 
toward  our  camp.  We  rode  hurriedly  out 
of  the  hills  into  a  broad  valley  so  that  we 
could  better  discover  any  attacking  parties 
of  Apaches  and  if  assailed  have  at  least  a 
fighting  chance  for  our  lives.  We  knew 
the  Apaches  under  Geronimo  were  on  the 
warpath,  but  they  were  far  down  in  Old 
Mexico.     However,  our  knowledge  of  the 

167 


GERONIMO 

Indians  led  us  to  expect  anything  at  any 
time — to  always  be  ready  for  the  worst. 

When  we  reached  the  valley  we  struck 
a  cavalry  trail  also  headed  for  our  camp. 
This  was  perplexing,  for  neither  the  Indians 
nor  the  soldiers  seemed  to  have  been  riding 
fast,  and  both  trails  led  toward  our  camp 
in  Skeleton  Canon.  This  canon  was  a  nat- 
ural route  from  Old  Mexico  to  Arizona, 
and  almost  all  bands  of  Indians,  as  well  as 
detachments  of  United  States  troops,  passed 
and  repassed  through  this  valley  when  go- 
ing to  Old  Mexico  or  returning  therefrom, 
but  never  before  had  two  hostile  bands 
passed  through  here  at  the  same  time  and 
traveling  in  the  same  direction,  except  when 
one  fled  and  the  other  pursued.  What  this 
could  mean  was  a  mystery  to  us.  Could  it 
be  that  the  troops  had  not  seen  the  Indians? 
Were  the  redskins  trying  to  head  the  troops 
off  and  attack  them  in  their  camp?  Were 
the  troops  hunting  for  those  Indians?  Could 
this  be  Lawton's  command?    Could  that  be 

168 


SURRENDER   OF    GERONIMO 

Geronimo's  band?  No,  it  was  impossible. 
Then  who  were  these  troops  and  what  In- 
dians were  those? 

Cautiously  we  rode  to  our  camp,  and 
nailed  on  the  door  of  our  cabin  was  this 
notice : 


a 


BE  CAREFUL,  GERONIMO  IS  NEAR  BY  AND 


HAS  NOT  YET  SURRENDERED. 


"  CAPT.  LAWTON." 


Then  we  understood. 

A  short  distance  above  our  cabin  we 
found  the  camp  of  the  troops  and  we  had 
just  finished  talking  with  Captain  Lawton, 
who  advised  us  to  remain  in  his  camp  rather 
than  risk  staying  alone  in  our  cabin,  when 
up  rode  the  chief,  Geronimo.  He  was 
mounted  on  a  blaze-faced,  white-stockinged 
dun  horse. 

He  came  directly  to  Captain  Lawton  and 
through  an  interpreter  asked  who  we  were 
and  what  we  wanted. 

As  soon  as  the  explanation  was  given  he 
nodded  his  approval  and  rode  away. 

169 


GERONIMO 

Prewitt  and  I  rode  away  with  him.  We 
were  well  armed  and  well  mounted  and  Ge- 
ronimo  was  well  mounted,  but  so  far  as  we 
could  see  unarmed.  I  tried  to  talk  with  the 
chief  (in  English),  but  could  not  make  him 
understand.  Prewitt  wanted  to  shoot2  him 
and  said  he  could  easily  kill  him  the  first 
shot,  but  I  objected  and  succeeded  in  re- 
straining him.  While  we  were  arguing  the 
chief  rode  silently  between  us,  evidently  feel- 
ing perfectly  secure.  All  this  time  we  had 
been  riding  in  the  direction  of  our  horses 
that  were  grazing  in  the  valley  about  a  mile 
distant  from  our  corral.  When  we  came  to  a 
place  about  a  half  mile  from  Lawton's  camp, 
where  a  spur  of  the  mountain  ran  far  out 
into  the  valley,  Geronimo  turned  aside,  sa- 
luted, said  in  fairly  good  Spanish,  "  Adios, 
Senors/'  and  began  to  ascend  a  mountain 

-  Recently  Mr.  Melton  told  Geronimo  of  this  conversa- 
tion. The  wily  old  chief  laughed  shyly  and  said,  "What 
if  Prewitt's  pistol  had  been  knocked  out  of  his  hand? 
Other  men  have  tried  to  shoot  me  and  at  least  some  of 
them  failed.     But  I'm  glad  he  didn't  try  it." 

170 


\     SURRENDER   OF    GERONIMO 

path.  Later  we  learned  that  he  was  going 
directly  toward  his  camp  far  up  among  the 
rocks.  We  rode  on,  drove  our  horses  back 
to  the  corral  and  remained  in  our  cabin  all 
night,  but  were  not  molested  by  the  In- 
dians. 

The  next  day  we  killed  three  beeves  for 
the  Indians,  and  they  were  paid  for  by  Cap- 
tain Lawton.  On  the  second  day  two 
mounted  Mexican  scouts  came  to  Lawton's 
camp.  As  soon  as  these  Mexicans  came  in 
sight  the  Indians  seized  their  arms  and  van- 
ished, as  it  were,  among  the  rocks. 

Captain  Lawton  wrote  an  account  of  con- 
ditions and  delivered  it  to  the  Mexicans, 
who  withdrew.  After  they  had  gone  and 
their  mission  had  been  explained  to  Ge- 
ronimo  the  Indians  again  returned  to  their 
camp  and  laid  down  their  arms. 

On  the  next  day  word  reached  camp  th*\t 
General  Miles  was  approaching  and  the  In- 
dians again  armed  and  disappeared  among 
the  rocks.      (Many  of  the  Apache  squaws 

171 


GERONIMO 

had  field  glasses3  and  were  stationed  every 
day  on  prominent  mountain  peaks  to  keep  a 
lookout.  No  one  could  approach  their  camp 
or  Lawton's  camp  without  being  discovered 
by  these  spies.) 

Soon  after  General  Miles  joined  Law- 
ton's  command  Geronimo  rode  into  camp 
unarmed,  and  dismounting  approached  Gen- 
eral Miles,  shook  hands  with  him,  and  then 
stood  proudly  before  the  officers  waiting 
for  General  Miles  to  begin  conversation 
with  him. 

The  interpreter  said  to  Geronimo,  "  Gen- 
eral Miles  is  your  friend."  Geronimo  said, 
"  I  never  saw  him,  but  I  have  been  in  need 
of  friends.  Why  has  he  not  been  with  me?  " 
When  this  answer  was  interpreted  every- 
body laughed.  After  this  there  was  no 
more  formality  and  without  delay  the  dis- 
cussion of  the  treaty  was  begun.  All  I 
remember  distinctly  of  the  treaty  is  that  Ge- 

*  These  field  glasses  were  taken  from  soldiers  and  officers 
(Mexicans  and  Americans)   whom  the  Apaches  had  killed. 

172 


1  • 

»  3    »     • 


W.  F.  Mkltov 
At  whose  camp  in  Skeleton  Canon  Geronimo  surrendered 


I     SURRENDER   OF    GERONIMO 

ronimo  and  his  band  were  not  to  be  killed, 
but  they  were  to  be  taken  to  their  families. 

I  remember  this  more  distinctly,  because 
the  Indians  were  so  much  pleased  with  this 
particular  one  of  the  terms  of  the  treaty. 

Geronimo,  Naiche,  and  a  few  others  went 
on  ahead  with  General  Miles,  but  the  main 
band  of  Indians  left  under  the  escort  of 
Lawton's  troops. 

The  night  before  they  left,  a  young 
squaw,  daughter-in-law  of  Geronimo,  gave 
birth  to  a  child.  The  next  morning  the  hus- 
band, Geronimo's  son,  carried  the  child,  but 
the  mother  mounted  her  pony  unaided  and 
rode  away  unassisted — a  prisoner  of  war 
under  military  escort. 

On  the  afternoon  of  the  day  of  the  treaty 
Captain  Lawton  built  a  monument  (about 
ten  feet  across  and  six  feet  high)  of  rough 
stones  at  the  spot  where  the  treaty  was 
made.  The  next  year  some  cowboys  on  a 
round-up  camped  at  the  place,  and  tore 
down  the  monument  to  see  what  was  in  it. 

173 


GERONIMO 

All  they  found  was  a  bottle  containing  a 
piece  of  paper  upon  which  was  written  the 
names  of  the  officers  who  were  with  Lawton. 

After  the  Indians  left  we  found  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  dollars  and  twenty-five  cents 
($150.25)  in  Mexican  money  hidden  in  a 
rat's  nest4  near  where  the  Indians  had 
camped. 

About  ten  o'clock  on  the  morning  after 
the  Apaches  and  soldiers  had  gone  away 
twenty  Pimos  Indians,  accompanied  by  one 
white  man,  surrounded  our  camp  and  de- 
manded to  know  of  Geronimo's  where- 
abouts. We  told  them  of  the  treaty  and 
they  followed  the  trail  on  toward  Fort 
Bowie. 

That  afternoon,  thinking  all  danger  from 
Apaches  past,  my  partner,  Prewitt,  went  to 
ride  the  lines  and  I  was  left  in  camp  alone. 
I  was  pumping  water  (by  horse-power)  at 
the  well,  when  I  saw  three  Indians  round- 

*This  was  a  stick  nest  built  on  top  of  the  ground  by  a 
species  of  woods  rat. 

174 


SURRENDER   OF    GERONIMO 

ing  up  our  horses  about  half  a  mile  away. 
They  saw  me  but  did  not  disturb  me,  nor 
did  I  interfere  with  them,  but  as  soon  as 
they  had  driven  that  bunch  of  horses  north- 
ward over  the  hill  out  of  sight  I  rode  quickly 
off  in  another  direction  and  drove  another 
bunch  of  horses  into  the  corral.  The  rest 
of  the  afternoon  I  stayed  in  camp,  but  saw 
no  more  Indians. 

The  next  day  we  rode  over  the  hill  in  the 
direction  these  Indians  had  gone  and  found 
that  they  had  camped  not  three  miles  away. 
There  were  evidently  several  in  the  party 
and  they  had  kept  scouts  concealed  near  the 
top  of  the  hill  to  watch  me,  and  to  shoot  me 
from  ambush  had  I  followed  them.  This 
we  knew  because  we  saw  behind  some  rocks 
at  the  crest  of  the  hill  in  the  loose  soil  the 
imprints  left  by  the  bodies  of  three  warriors 
where  they  had  been  lying  down  in  conceal- 
ment. 

At  their  camp  we  found  the  head  and 
hoofs  of  my  favorite  horse,  "  Digger,"  a 

175 


GERONIMO 

fine  little  sorrel  pony,  and  knew  that  he  had 
served  them  for  dinner.  We  followed  their 
trail  far  into  Old  Mexico,  but  did  not  over- 
take them.  We  had  been  accustomed  to  say 
"it  was  Geronimo's  band,"  whenever  any 
depredation  was  committed,  but  this  time 

we  were  not  so  positive. 

•  .  .  •  • 

We  do  not  wish  to  express  our  own  opin- 
ion, but  to  ask  the  reader  whether,  after 
having  had  the  testimony  of  Apaches,  sol- 
diers, and  civilians,  who  knew  the  condi- 
tions of  surrender,  and,  after  having 
examined  carefully  the  testimony  offered,  it 
would  be  possible  to  conclude  that  Geronimo 
made  an  unconditional  surrender? 

Before  passing  from  this  subject  it  would 
be  well  also  to  consider  whether  our  Govern- 
ment has  treated  these  prisoners  in  strict 
accordance  with  the  terms  of  the  treaty 
made  in  Skeleton  Canon. 


176 


CHAPTER  XIX 

A   PRISONER  OF    WAR 

WHEN  I  had  given  up  to  the  Gov- 
ernment they  put  me  on  the  South- 
ern Pacific  Railroad  and  took  me  to  San 
Antonio,  Texas,  and  held  me  to  be  tried  by 
their  laws. 

In  forty  days  they  took  me  from  there  to 
Fort  Pickens  (Pensacola),  Florida.  Here 
they  put  me  to  sawing  up  large  logs.  There 
were  several  other  Apache  warriors  with  me, 
and  all  of  us  had  to  work  every  day.  For 
nearly  two  years  we  were  kept  at  hard  labor 
in  this  place  and  we  did  not  see  our  families 
until  May,  1887.  This  treatment  was  in 
direct  violation  of  our  treaty  made  at  Skele- 
ton Canon. 

After  this  we  were  sent  with  our  families 

to  Vermont,  Alabama,  where  we  stayed  five 

177 


GERONIMO 

years  and  worked  for  the  Government.  We 
had  no  property,  and  I  looked  in  vain  for 
General  Miles  to  send  me  to  that  land  of 
which  he  had  spoken;  I  longed  in  vain  for 
the  implements,  house,  and  stock  that  Gen- 
eral Miles  had  promised  me. 

During  this  time  one  of  my  warriors, 
Fun,  killed  himself  and  his  wife.  Another 
one  shot  his  wife  and  then  shot  himself. 
He  fell  dead,  but  the  woman  recovered  and 
is  still  living. 

We  were  not  healthy  in  this  place,  for  the 
climate  disagreed  with  us.  So  many  of  our 
people  died  that  I  consented  to  let  one  of  my 
wives  go  to  the  Mescalero  Agency  in  New 
Mexico  to  live.  This  separation  is  accord- 
ing to  our  custom  equivalent  to  what  the 
white  people  call  divorce,  and  so  she  married 
again  soon  after  she  got  to  Mescalero.  She 
also  kept  our  two  small  children,  which  she 
had  a  right  to  do.  The  children,  Lenna  and 
Robbie,  are  still  living  at  Mescalero,  New 
Mexico.     Lenna   is   married.     I   kept   one 

178 


A   PRISONER   OF   WAR 

wife,  but  she  is  dead  now  and  I  have  only 
our  daughter  Eva  with  me.  Since  my 
separation  from  Lenna's  mother  I  have 
never  had  more  than  one  wife  at  a  time. 
Since  the  death  of  Eva's  mother  I  married 
another  woman  (December,  1905)  but  we 
could  not  live  happily  and  separated.  She 
went  home  to  her  people — that  is  an  Apache 
divorce. 

Then,1  as  now,  Mr.  George  Wratton  su- 
perintended the  Indians.  He  has  always 
had  trouble  with  the  Indians,  because  he  has 
mistreated  them.  One  day  an  Indian,  while 
drunk,  stabbed  Mr.  Wratton  with  a  little 
knife.  The  officer  in  charge  took  the  part 
of  Mr.  Wratton  and  the  Indian  was  sent  to 
prison. 

When2  we  first  came  to  Fort  Sill,  Cap- 
tain Scott  was  in  charge,  and  he  had  houses 
built  for  us  by  the  Government.     We  were 

i  These  are  not  the  words  of  the  Editor,  but  of  Geronimo. 
2  They   were  in   Alabama   from   May,   1888,  to  October, 
1894. 

179 


I 


GERONIMO 

also  given,  from  the  Government,  cattle, 
hogs,  turkeys  and  chickens.  The  Indians 
did  not  do  much  good  with  the  hogs,  because 
they  did  not  understand  how  to  care  for 
them,  and  not  many  Indians  even  at  the 
present  time  keep  hogs.  We  did  better  with 
the  turkeys  and  chickens,  but  with  these  we 
did  not  have  as  good  luck  as  white  men  do. 
With  the  cattle  we  have  done  very  well,  in- 
deed, and  we  like  to  raise  them.  We  have 
a  few  horses  also,  and  have  had  no  bad  luck 
with  them. 

In  the  matter  of  selling3  our  stock  and 
grain  there  has  been  much  misunderstand- 
ing. The  Indians  understood  that  the  cat- 
tle were  to  be  sold  and  the  money  given  to 
them,  but  instead  part  of  the  money  is  given 
to  the  Indians  and  part  of  it  is  placed  in 

3  The  Indians  are  not  allowed  to  sell  the  cattle  them- 
selves. When  cattle  are  ready  for  market  they  are  sold 
by  the  officer  in  charge,  part  of  the  money  paid  to  the 
Indians  who  owned  them  and  part  of  it  placed  in  a  general 
(Apache)  fund.  The  supplies,  farming  implements,  etc., 
for  the  Apaches  are  paid  for  from  this  fund. 

180 


A   PRISONER   OF   WAR 

what  the  officers  call  the  "Apache  Fund." 
We  have  had  five  different  officers  in  charge 
of  the  Indians  here  and  they  have  all  ruled 
very  much  alike  —  not  consulting  the 
Apaches  or  even  explaining  to  them.  It 
may  be  that  the  Government  ordered  the 
officers  in  charge  to  put  this  cattle  money 
into  an  Apache  fund,  for  once  I  complained 
and  told  Lieutenant  Purington4  that  I  in- 
tended to  report  to  the  Government  that  he ^/ 
had  taken  some  of  my  part  of  the  cattle^ 
money  and  put  it  into  the  Apache  Fund,  he 
said  he  did  not  care  if  I  did  tell. 

Several  years  ago  the  issue  of  clothing 
ceased.  This,  too,  may  have  been  by  the 
order  of  the  Government,  but  the  Apaches 
do  not  understand  it. 

If  there  is  an  Apache  Fund,  it  should 
some  day  be  turned  over  to  the  Indians,  or 

*The  criticism  of  Lieutenant  Purington  is  from  Ge- 
ronimo.  The  Editor  disclaims  any  responsibility  for  it, 
as  in  all  cases  where  individuals  are  criticised  by  the  old 
warrior. 

181 


6 


GERONIMO 

at  least  they  should  have  an  account  of  it, 
for  it  is  their  earnings. 

When  General  Miles  last  visited  Fort 
Sill  I  asked  to  be  relieved  from  labor  on 
account  of  my  age.  I  also  remembered 
what  General  Miles  had  promised  me  in  the 
treaty  and  told  him  of  it.  He  said  I  need 
not  work  any  more  except  when  I  wished 
to,  and  since  that  time  I  have  not  been  de- 
tailed to  do  any  work.  I  have  worked  a 
great  deal,  however,  since  then,  for,  although 
I  am  old,  I  like  to  work 5  and  help  my  peo- 
ple as  much  as  I  am  able. 

5  Geronimo  helps  make  hay  and  care  for  the  cattle,  but 
does  not  receive  orders  from  the  Superintendent  of  the 
Indians. 


182 


PART  IV 


THE  OLD  AND  THE  NEW 


CHAPTER  XX 

UNWRITTEN    LAWS    OF    THE    APACHES 

Trials 

WHEN  an  Indian  has  been  wronged 
by  a  member  of  his  tribe  he  may, 
if  he  does  not  wish  to  settle  the  difficulty 
personally,  make  complaint  to  the  Chieftain. 
If  he  is  unable  to  meet  the  offending  parties 
in  a  personal  encounter,  and  disdains  to 
make  complaint,  anyone  may  in  his  stead 
inform  the  chief  of  this  conduct,  and  then 
it  becomes  necessary  to  have  an  investigation 
or  trial.  Both  the  accused  and  the  accuser 
are  entitled  to  witnesses,  and  their  witnesses 
are  not  interrupted  in  any  way  by  questions, 
but  simply  say  what  they  wish  to  say  in 
regard  to  the  matter.  The  witnesses  are  not 
placed  under  oath,  because  it  is  not  believed 
that  they  will  give  false  testimony  in  a  mat- 
ter relating  to  their  own  people. 

185 


GERONIMO 

The  chief  of  the  tribe  presides  during 
these  trials,  but  if  it  is  a  serious  offense  he 
asks  two  or  three  leaders  to  sit  with  him. 
These  simply  determine  whether  or  not  the 
man  is  guilty.  If  he  is  not  guilty  the  mat- 
ter is  ended,  and  the  complaining  party  has 
forfeited  his  right  to  take  personal  ven- 
geance, for  if  he  wishes  to  take  vengeance 
himself,  he  must  object  to  the  trial  which 
would  prevent  it.  If  the  accused  is  found 
guilty  the  injured  party  fixes  the  penalty, 
which  is  generally  confirmed  by  the  chief  and 
his  associates. 

Adoption  of  Children 

If  any  children  are  left  orphans  by  the 
usage  of  war  or  otherwise,  that  is,  if  both 
parents  are  dead,  the  chief  of  the  tribe  may 
adopt  them  or  give  them  away  as  he  desires. 
In  the  case  of  outlawed  Indians,  they  may, 
if  they  wish,  take  their  children  with  them, 
but  if  they  leave  the  children  with  the  tribe, 
the  chief  decides  what  will  be  done  with 

186 


UNWRITTEN   LAWS 

them,  but  no  disgrace  attaches  to  the  chil- 
dren. 

|  "  Salt  Lake  " 

We  obtained  our  salt  from  a  little  lake  in 
the  Gila  Mountains.  This  is  a  very  small 
lake  of  clear,  shallow  water,  and  in  the  cen- 
ter a  small  mound  arises  above  the  surface 
of  the  water.  The  water  is  too  salty  to 
drink,  and  the  bottom  of  the  lake  is  covered 
with  a  brown  crust.  When  this  crust  is 
broken  cakes  of  salt  adhere  to  it.  These 
cakes  of  salt  may  be  washed  clear  in  the 
water  of  this  lake,  but  if  washed  in  other 
water  will  dissolve. 

When  visiting  this  lake  our  people  were 
not  allowed  to  even  kill  game  or  attack  an 
enemy.  All  creatures  were  free  to  go  and 
come  without  molestation. 

Preparation  of  a  Warrior 

To  be  admitted  as  a  warrior  a  youth  must 
have  gone  with  the  warriors  of  his  tribe  four 
separate  times  on  the  warpath. 

187 


GERONIMO 

On  the  first  trip  he  will  be  given  only  very 
inferior  food.  With  this  he  must  be  con- 
tented without  murmuring.  On  none  of 
the  four  trips  is  he  allowed  to  select  his  food 
as  the  warriors  do,  but  must  eat  such  food 
as  he  is  permitted  to  have. 

On  each  of  these  expeditions  he  acts  as 
servant,  cares  for  the  horses,  cooks  the  food, 
and  does  whatever  duties  he  should  do  with- 
out being  told.  He  knows  what  things  are 
to  be  done,  and  without  waiting  to  be  told 
is  to  do  them.  He  is  not  allowed  to  speak 
to  any  warrior  except  in  answer  to  ques- 
tions or  when  told  to  speak. 

During  these  four  wars  he  is  expected  to 
learn  the  sacred  names  of  everything  used 
in  war,  for  after  the  tribe  enters  upon  the 
warpath  no  common  names  are  used  in  re- 
ferring to  anything  appertaining  to  war  in 
any  way.  War  is  a  solemn  religious 
matter. 

If,  after  four  expeditions,  all  the  war- 
riors are  satisfied  that  the  youth  has  been 

188 


UNWRITTEN   LAWS 

industrious,  has  not  spoken  out  of  order, 
has  been  discreet  in  all  things,  has  shown 
courage  in  battle,  has  borne  all  hardships 
uncomplainingly,  and  has  exhibited  no  color 
of  cowardice,  or  weakness  of  any  kind,  he 
may  by  vote  of  the  council  be  admitted  as 
a  warrior;  but  if  any  warrior  objects  to 
him  upon  any  account  he  will  be  subjected 
to  further  tests,  and  if  he  meets  these  cour- 
ageously, his  name  may  again  be  proposed. 
When  he  has  proven  beyond  question  that 
he  can  bear  hardships  without  complaint, 
and  that  he  is  a  stranger  to  fear,  he  is  ad- 
mitted to  the  council  of  the  warriors  in  the 
lowest  rank.  After  this  there  is  no  formal 
test  for  promotions,  but  by  common  con- 
sent he  assumes  a  station  on  the  battlefield, 
and  if  that  position  is  maintained  with 
honor,  he  is  allowed  to  keep  it,  and  may  be 
asked,  or  may  volunteer,  to  take  a  higher 
station,  but  no  warrior  would  presume  to 
take  a  higher  station  unless  he  had  assurance 
from  the  leaders  of  the  tribe  that  his  con- 

189 


GERONIMO 

duct  in  the  first  position  was  worthy  of  com- 
mendation. 

From  this  point  upward  the  only  election 
by  the  council  in  formal  assembly  is  the  elec- 
tion of  the  chief. 

Old  men  are  not  allowed  to  lead  in  battle, 
but  their  advice  is  always  respected.  Old 
age  means  loss  of  physical  power  and  is 
fatal  to  active  leadership. 

Dances 

All  dances  are  considered  religious  cere- 
monies and  are  presided  over  by  a  chief  and 
medicine  men.  They  are  of  a  social  or  mili- 
tary nature,  but  never  without  some  sacred 
characteristic. 

A  Dance  of  Thanksgiving 

Every  summer  we  would  gather  the  fruit 

of  the  yucca,  grind  and  pulverize  it  and 

mold  it  into  cakes;  then  the  tribe  would 

be  assembled  to  feast,  to  sing,  and  to  give 

praises  to  Usen.    Prayers  of  Thanksgiving 

were  said  by  all.     When  the  dance  began 

190 


13  ^    , 

t        I 


•    •>  *  e   •    * 


Chihuahua  and  Family 


UNWRITTEN   LAWS 

the  leaders  bore  these  cakes  and  added 
words  of  praise  occasionally  to  the  usual 
tone  sounds  of  the  music. 

The  War  Dance 

After  a  council  of  the  warriors  had  de- 
liberated, and  had  prepared  for  the  warpath, 
the  dance  would  be  started.  In  this  dance 
there  is  the  usual  singing  led  by  the  warriors 
and  accompanied  with  the  beating  of  the 
"  esadadene,"  but  the  dancing  is  more  vio- 
lent, and  yells  and  war  whoops  sometimes 
almost  drown  the  music.  Only  warriors 
participated  in  this  dance. 

Scalp  Dance 

After  a  war  party  has  returned,  a  modifi- 
cation of  the  war  dance  is  held.  The  war- 
riors who  have  brought  scalps  from  the 
battles  exhibit  them  to  the  tribe,  and  when 
the  dance  begins  these  scalps,  elevated  on 
poles  or  spears,  are  carried  around  the  camp 
fires  while  the  dance  is  in  progress.  During 
this  dance  there  is  still  some  of  the  solem- 

191 


GERONIMO 

nity  of  the  war  dance.  There  are  yells  and 
war  whoops,  frequently  accompanied  by  dis- 
charge of  firearms,  but  there  is  always  more 
levity  than  would  be  permitted  at  a  war 
dance.  After  the  scalp  dance  is  over  the 
scalps  are  thrown  away.  No  Apache  would 
keep  them,  for  they  are  considered  defiling. 

A  Social  Dance 

In  the  early  part  of  September,  1905,  I 
announced  among  the  Apaches  that  my 
daughter,  Eva,  having  attained  woman- 
hood, should  now  put  away  childish  things 
and  assume  her  station  as  a  young  lady. 
At  a  dance  of  the  tribe  she  would  make  her 
debut,  and  then,  or  thereafter,  it  would  be 
proper  for  a  warrior  to  seek  her  hand  in 
marriage.  Accordingly,  invitations  were  is- 
sued to  all  Apaches,  and  many  Comanches 
and  Kiowas,  to  assemble  for  a  grand  dance 
on  the  green  by  the  south  bank  of  Medi- 
cine Creek,  near  the  village  of  Naiche,  for- 
mer chief  of  the  Chokonen  Apaches,  on 

192 


UNWRITTEN   LAWS 

the  first  night  of  full  moon  in  September. 
The  festivities  were  to  continue  for  two 
days  and  nights.  Nothing  was  omitted  in 
the  preparation  that  would  contribute  to 
the  enjoyment  of  the  guests  or  the  perfec- 
tion of  the  observance  of  the  religious  rite. 

To  make  ready  for  the  dancing  the  grass 
on  a  large  circular  space  was  closely  mowed. 

The  singing  was  led  by  Chief  Naiche,  and 
I,  assisted  by  our  medicine  men,  directed 
the  dance. 

First  Eva  advanced  from  among  the 
women  and  danced  once  around  the  camp 
fire;  then,  accompanied  by  another  young 
woman,  she  again  advanced  and  both  danced 
twice  around  the  camp  fire;  then  she  and 
two  other  young  ladies  advanced  and  danced 
three  times  around  the  camp  fire;  the  next 
time  she  and  three  other  young  ladies  ad- 
vanced and  danced  four  times  around  the 
camp  fire;  this  ceremony  lasted  about  one 
hour.  Next  the  medicine  men  entered, 
stripped  to  the  waist,  their  bodies  painted 

193 


GERONIMO 

fantastically,  and  danced  the  sacred  dances. 
They  were  followed  by  clown  dancers,  who 
amused  the  audience  greatly. 

Then  the  members  of  the  tribe  joined 
hands  and  danced  in  a  circle  around  the 
camp  fire  for  a  long  time.  All  the  friends 
of  the  tribe  were  asked  to  take  part  in  this 
dance,  and  when  it  was  ended  many  of  the 
old  people  retired,  and  the  "  lovers'  dance ' 
began. 

The  warriors  stood  in  the  middle  of  the 
circle  and  the  ladies,  two-aid-two,  danced 
forward  and  designated  some  warrior  to 
dance  with  them.  The  dancing  was  back 
and  forth  on  a  line  from  the  center  to  the 
outer  edge  of  the  circle.  The  warrior  faced 
the  two  ladies,  and  when  they  danced  for- 
ward to  the  center  he  danced  backward: 
then  they  danced  backward  to  the  outer  edge 
and  he  followed  facing  them.  This  lasted 
two  or  three  hours  and  then  the  music 
changed.  Immediately  the  warriors  assem- 
bled again  in  the  center  of  the  circle,  and 

194 


UNWRITTEN   LAWS 

this  time  each  lady  selected  a  warrior  as  a 
partner.  The  manner  of  dancing  was  as  be- 
fore, only  two  instead  of  three  danced 
together.  During  this  dance,  which  con- 
tinued until  daylight,  the  warrior  (if  danc- 
ing with  a  maiden)  could  propose1  mar- 
riage, and  if  the  maiden  agreed,  he  would 
consult  her  father  soon  afterward  and  make 
a  bargain  for  her. 

Upon  all  such  occasions  as  this,  when  the 
dance  is  finished,  each  warrior  gives  a  pres- 
ent to  the  lady  who  selected  him  for  a  part- 
ner and  danced  with  him.  If  she  is  satisfied 
with  the  present  he  says  good-by,  if  not,  the 
matter  is  referred  to  someone  in  authority 
(medicine  man  or  chief),  who  determines 
the  question  of  what  is  a  proper  gift. 

For  a  married  lady  the  value  of  the  pres- 

i  Apache  warriors  do  not  go  "courting"  as  our  youths 
do.  The  associations  in  the  villages  afford  ample  op- 
portunity for  acquaintance,  and  the  arranging  for  mar- 
riages is  considered  a  business  transaction,  but  the  courtesy 
of  consulting  the  maiden,  although  not  essential,  is  con- 
sidered very  polite. 

195 


GERONIMO 

sent  should  be  two  or  three  dollars;  for  a 
maiden  the  present  should  have  a  value  of 
not  less  than  five  dollars.  Often,  however, 
the  maiden  receives  a  very  valuable  present. 

During  the  "  lovers'  dance  "  the  medicine 
men  mingle  with  the  dancers  to  keep  out 
evil  spirits. 

Perhaps  I  shall  never  again  have  cause 
to  assemble  our  people  to  dance,  but  these 
social  dances  in  the  moonlight  have  been  a 
large  part  of  our  enjoyment  in  the  past,  and 
I  think  they  will  not  soon  be  discontinued, 
at  least  I  hope  not. 


196 


CHAPTER  XXI 

AT    THE    WORLD'S    FAIR 

WHEN  I  was  at  first  asked  to  attend 
the  St.  Louis  World's  Fair  I  did 
not  wish  to  go.  Later,  when  I  was  told 
that  I  would  receive  good  attention  and 
protection,  and  that  the  President  of  the 
United  States  said  that  it  would  be  all  right, 
I  consented.  I  was  kept  by  parties  in 
charge  of  the  Indian  Department,  who  had 
obtained  permission  from  the  President.  I 
stayed  in  this  place  for  six  months.  I  sold 
my  photographs  for  twenty-five  cents,  and 
was  allowed  to  keep  ten  cents  of  this  for 
myself.  I  also  wrote  my  name  for  ten,  fif- 
teen, or  twenty-five  cents,  as  the  case  might 
be,  and  kept  all  of  that  money.  I  often 
made  as  much  as  two  dollars  a  day,  and 
when  I  returned  I  had  plenty  of  money — 
more  than  I  had  ever  owned  before. 

197 


GERONIMO 

Many  people  in  St.  Louis  invited  me  to 
come  to  their  homes,  but  my  keeper  always 
refused. 

Every  Sunday  the  President  of  the  Fair 
sent  for  me  to  go  to  a  wild  west  show.  I 
took  part  in  the  roping  contests  before  the 
audience.  There  were  many  other  Indian 
tribes  there,  and  strange  people  of  whom  I 
had  never  heard. 

When  people  first  came  to  the  World's 
Fair  they  did  nothing  but  parade  up  and 
down  the  streets.  When  they  got  tired  of 
this  they  would  visit  the  shows.  There  were 
many  strange  things  in  these  shows.  The 
Government  sent  guards  with  me  when  I 
went,  and  I  was  not  allowed  to  go  anywhere 
without  them. 

In  one  of  the  shows  some  strange  men  * 
with  red  caps  had  some  peculiar  swords,  and 
they  seemed  to  want  to  fight.  Finally  their 
manager  told  them  they  might  fight  each 
other.    They  tried  to  hit  each  other  over  the 

i  Turks. 
198 


AT    THE   WORLD'S    FAIR 

head  with  these  swords,  and  I  expected  both 
to  be  wounded  or  perhaps  killed,  but  neither 
one  was  harmed.  They  would  be  hard  peo- 
ple to  kill  in  a  hand-to-hand  fight. 

In  another  show  there  was  a  strange-look- 
ing negro.  The  manager  tied  his  hands 
fast,  then  tied  him  to  a  chair.  He  was  se- 
curely tied,  for  I  looked  myself,  and  I  did 
not  think  it  was  possible  for  him  to  get 
away.  Then  the  manager  told  him  to  get 
loose. 

He  twisted  in  his  chair  for  a  moment, 
and  then  stood  up ;  the  ropes  were  still  tied, 
but  he  was  free.  I  do  not  understand  how 
this  was  done.  It  was  certainly  a  miraculous 
power,  because  no  man  could  have  released 
himself  by  his  own  efforts. 

In  another  place  a  man  was  on  a  platform 
speaking  to  the  audience;  they  set  a  basket 
by  the  side  of  the  platform  and  covered  it 
with  red  calico ;  then  a  woman  came  and  got 
into  the  basket,  and  a  man  covered  the 
basket  again  with  the  calica;  then  the  man 

199 


GERONIMO 

who  was  speaking  to  the  audience  took  a 
long  sword  and  ran  it  through  the  basket, 
each  way,  and  then  down  through  the  cloth 
cover.  I  heard  the  sword  cut  through  the 
woman's  body,  and  the  manager  himself 
said  she  was  dead;  but  when  the  cloth  was 
lifted  from  the  basket  she  stepped  out, 
smiled,  and  walked  off  the  stage.  I  would 
like  to  know  how  she  was  so  quickly  healed, 
and  why  the  wounds  did  not  kill  her. 

I  have  never  considered  bears  very  intelli- 
gent, except  in  their  wild  habits,  but  I  had 
never  before  seen  a  white  bear.  In  one  of 
the  shows  a  man  had  a  white  bear  that 
was  as  intelligent  as  a  man.  He  would  do 
whatever  he  was  told — carry  a  log  on  his 
shoulder,  just  as  a  man  would;  then,  when 
he  was  told,  would  put  it  down  again.  He 
did  many  other  things,  and  seemed  to  know 
exactly  what  his  keeper  said  to  him.  I  am 
sure  that  no  grizzly  bear  could  be  trained  to 
do  these  things. 

One  time  the  guards  took  me  into  a  little 

200 


Mrs.  Asa  Deklugie  Eva  Geronimo 

Niece  of  Geronimo  and  daughter  Geronimo's  youngest  daughter, 

of  Chihuahua,  a  famous  Apache  16  years  old 

chieftain 


AT    THE   WORLD'S    FAIR 

house  2  that  had  four  windows.  When  we 
were  seated  the  little  house  started  to  move 
along  the  ground.  Then  the  guards  called 
my  attention  to  some  curious  things  they 
had  in  their  pockets.  Finally  they  told  me 
to  look  out,  and  when  I  did  so  I  was  scared, 
for  our  little  house  had  gone  high  up  in 
the  air,  and  the  people  down  in  the  Fair 
Grounds  looked  no  larger  than  ants.  The 
men  laughed  at  me  for  being  scared;  then 
they  gave  me  a  glass  to  look  through  (I 
often  had  such  glasses  which  I  took  from 
dead  officers  after  battles  in  Mexico  and 
elsewhere),  and  I  could  see  rivers,  lakes 
and  mountains.  But  I  had  never  been  so 
high  in  the  air,  and  I  tried  to  look  into  the 
sky.  There  were  no  stars,  and  I  could  not 
look  at  the  sun  through  this  glass  because 
the  brightness  hurt  my  eyes.  Finally  I  put 
the  glass  down,  and  as  they  were  all  laugh- 
ing at  me,  I  too,  began  to  laugh.  Then  they 
said,  "  Get  out! "  and  when  I  looked  we  were 

2  Ferris  wheel. 
201 


GERONIMO 

on  the  street  again.  After  we  were  safe 
on  the  land  I  watched  many  of  these  little 
houses  going  up  and  coming  down,  but  I 
cannot  understand  how  they  travel.  They 
are  very  curious  little  houses. 

One  day  we  went  into  another  show,  and 
as  soon  as  we  were  in,  it  changed  into  night. 
It  was  real  night,  for  I  could  feel  the  damp 
air;  soon  it  began  to  thunder,  and  the  light- 
nings flashed ;  it  was  real  lightning,  too,  for 
it  struck  just  above  our  heads.  I  dodged 
and  wanted  to  run  away,  but  I  could  not 
tell  which  way  to  go  in  order  to  get  out. 
The  guards  motioned  me  to  keep  still,  and 
so  I  stayed.  In  front  of  us  were  some 
strange  little  people  who  came  out  on  the 
platform;  then  I  looked  up  again  and  the 
clouds  were  all  gone,  and  I  could  see  the 
stars  shining.  The  little  people  on  the  plat- 
form did  not  seem  in  earnest  about  anything 
they  did;  so  I  only  laughed  at  them.  All  the 
people  around  where  we  sat  seemed  to  be 
laughing  at  me. 

202 


AT    THE   WORLD'S    FAIR 

We  went  into  another  place  and  the  man- 
ager took  us  into  a  little  room  that  was  made 
like  a  cage;  then  everything  around  us 
seemed  to  be  moving;  soon  the  air  looked 
blue,  then  there  were  black  clouds  moving 
with  the  wind.  Pretty  soon  it  was  clear 
outside ;  then  we  saw  a  few  thin  white  clouds ; 
then  the  clouds  grew  thicker,  and  it  rained 
and  hailed  with  thunder  and  lightning.  Then 
the  thunder  retreated  and  a  rainbow  ap- 
peared in  the  distance ;  then  it  became  dark, 
the  moon  rose  and  thousands  of  stars  came 
out.  Soon  the  sun  came  up,  and  we  got  out 
of  the  little  room.  This  was  a  good  show, 
but  it  was  so  strange  and  unnatural  that  I 
was  glad  to  be  on  the  streets  again. 

We  went  into  one  place  where  they  made 
glassware.  I  had  always  thought  that  these 
things  were  made  by  hand,  but  they  are  not. 
The  man  had  a  curious  little  instrument,  and 
whenever  he  would  blow  through  this  into  a 
little  blaze  the  glass  would  take  any  shape 
he  wanted  it  to.    I  am  not  sure,  but  I  think 

203 


GERONTMO 

that  if  I  had  this  kind  of  an  instrument 
I  could  make  whatever  I  wished.  There 
seems  to  be  a  charm  about  it.  But  I  sup- 
pose it  is  very  difficult  to  get  these  little 
instruments,  or  other  people  would  have 
them.  The  people  in  this  show  were  so 
anxious  to  buy  the  things  the  man  made 
that  they  kept  him  so  busy  he  could  not  sit 
down  all  day  long.  I  bought  many  curious 
things  in  there  and  brought  them  home 
with  me. 

At  the  end  of  one  of  the  streets  some 
people  were  getting  into  a  clumsy  canoe, 
upon  a  kind  of  shelf,  and  sliding  down  into 
the  water.3  They  seemed  to  enjoy  it,  but  it 
looked  too  fierce  for  me.  If  one  of  these 
canoes  had  gone  out  of  its  path  the  peo- 
ple would  have  been  sure  to  get  hurt  or 
killed. 

There  were  some  little  brown  people 4  at 
the  Fair  that  United  States  troops  captured 

« Shooting  the  Chute. 

*  Iggorrotes   from  the   Philippines. 

204 


AT    THE   WORLD'S    FAIR 

recently  on  some  islands  far  away  from 
here. 

They  did  not  wear  much  clothing,  and  I 
think  that  they  should  not  have  been  allowed 
to  come  to  the  Fair.  But  they  themselves 
did  not  seem  to  know  any  better.  They  had 
some  little  brass  plates,  and  they  tried  to 
play  music  with  these,  but  I  did  not  think 
it  was  music — it  was  only  a  rattle.  How- 
ever, they  danced  to  this  noise  and  seemed 
to  think  they  were  giving  a  fine  show. 

I  do  not  know  how  true  the  report  was, 
but  I  heard  that  the  President  sent  them  to 
the  Fair  so  that  they  could  learn  some  man- 
ners, and  when  they  went  home  teach 
their  people  how  to  dress  and  how  to  be- 
have. 

I  am  glad  I  went  to  the  Fair.  I  saw 
many  interesting  things  and  learned  much 
of  the  white  people.  They  are  a  very  kind 
and  peaceful  people.  During  all  the  time  I 
was  at  the  Fair  no  one  tried  to  harm  me  in 
any  way.    Had  this  been  among  the  Mex- 

205 


+ 


GERONIMO 

icans  I  am  sure  I  should  have  been  com- 
pelled to  defend  myself  often. 

I  wish  all  my  people  could  have  attended 
the  Fair.5 

6  Geronimo  was  also  taken  to  both  the  Omaha  and  the 
Buffalo  Expositions,  but  during  that  period  of  his  life  he 
was  sullen  and  took  no  interest  in  things.  The  St.  Louis 
Exposition  was  held  after  he  had  adopted  the  Christian 
religion  and  had  begun  to  try  to  understand  our  civilization. 


206 


CHAPTER    XXII 

RELIGION 

IN  our  primitive  worship  only  our  rela- 
tions to  Usen  and  the  members  of  our 
tribe  were  considered  as  appertaining  to  our 
religious  responsibilities.  As  to  the  future 
state,  the  teachings  of  our  tribe  were  not 
specific,  that  is,  we  had  no  definite  idea  of 
our  relations  and  surroundings  in  after  life. 
We  believed  that  there  is  a  life  after  this 
one,  but  no  one  ever  told  me  as  to  what  part 
of  man  lived  after  death.  I  have  seen  many 
men  die;  I  have  seen  many  human  bodies 
decayed,  but  I  have  never  seen  that  part 
which  is  called  the  spirit;  I  do  not  know 
what  it  is;  nor  have  I  yet  been  able  to  un- 
derstand that  part  of  the  Christian  religion. 
We  held  that  the  discharge  of  one's  duty 
would  make  his  future  life  more  pleasant, 
but  whether  that  future  life  was  worse  than 

%  207 


GERONIMO 

this  life  or  better,  we  did  not  know,  and  no 
one  was  able  to  tell  us.  We  hoped  that  in 
the  future  life  family  and  tribal  relations 
would  be  resumed.  In  a  way  we  believed 
this,  but  we  did  not  know  it. 

Once  when  living  in  San  Carlos  Reserva- 
tion an  Indian  told  me  that  while  lying  un- 
conscious on  the  battlefield  he  had  actually 
been  dead,  and  had  passed  into  the  spirit 
land. 

First  he  came  to  a  mulberry  tree  growing 
out  from  a  cave  in  the  ground.  Before  this 
cave  a  guard  was  stationed,  but  when  he 
approached  without  fear  the  guard  let  him 
pass.  He  descended  into  the  cave,  and  a 
little  way  back  the  path  widened  and  termi- 
nated in  a  perpendicular  rock  many  hun- 
dreds of  feet  wide  and  equal  in  height. 
There  was  not  much  light,  but  by  peering 
directly  beneath  him  he  discovered  a  pile  of 
sand  reaching  from  the  depths  below  to 
within  twenty  feet  of  the  top  of  the  rock 
where  he   stood.     Holding  to  a  bush,  he 

208 


RELIGION 

swung  off  from  the  edge  of  the  rock  and 
dropped  onto  the  sand,  sliding  rapidly  down 
its  steep  side  into  the  darkness.  He  landed 
in  a  narrow  passage  running  due  westward 
through  a  canon  which  gradually  grew 
lighter  and  lighter  until  he  could  see  as  well 
as  if  it  had  been  daylight ;  but  there  was  no 
sun.  Finally  he  came  to  a  section  of  this 
passage  that  was  wider  for  a  short  distance, 
and  then  closing  abruptly  continued  in  a 
narrow  path;  just  where  this  section  nar- 
rowed two  huge  serpents  were  coiled,  and 
rearing  their  heads,  hissed  at  him  as  he  ap- 
proached, but  he  showed  no  fear,  and  as  soon 
as  he  came  close  to  them  they  withdrew 
quietly  and  let  him  pass.  At  the  next  place, 
where  the  passage  opened  into  a  wider  sec- 
tion, were  two  grizzly  bears  prepared  to  at- 
tack him,  but  when  he  approached  and  spoke 
to  them  they  stood  aside  and  he  passed  un- 
harmed. He  continued  to  follow  the  nar- 
row passage,  and  the  third  time  it  widened 
and  two  mountain  lions  crouched  in  the  way, 

209 


GERONIMO 

but  when  he  had  approached  them  without 
fear  and  had  spoken  to  them  they  also  with- 
drew. He  again  entered  the  narrow  pas- 
sage. For  some  time  he  followed  this, 
emerging  into  a  fourth  section  beyond 
which  he  could  see  nothing:  the  further 
walls  of  this  section  were  clashing  together 
at  regular  intervals  with  tremendous  sounds, 
but  when  he  approached  them  they  stood 
apart  until  he  had  passed.  After  this  he 
seemed  to  be  in  a  forest,  and  following  the 
natural  draws,  which  led  westward,  soon 
came  into  a  green  valley  where  there  were 
many  Indians  camped  and  plenty  of  game. 
He  said  that  he  saw  and  recognized  many 
whom  he  had  known  in  this  life,  and  that 
he  was  sorry  when  he  was  brought  back  to 
consciousness. 

I  told  him  if  I  knew  this  to  be  true  I 
would  not  want  to  live  another  day,  but  by 
some  means,  if  by  my  own  hands,  I  would 
die  in  order  to  enjoy  these  pleasures.  I  my- 
self have  lain  unconscious  on  the  battlefield, 

210 


i  ■>■>  t  J 


,  •>    »» 


Ready  for  Chukch 


RELIGION 

and  while  in  that  condition  have  had  some 
strange  thoughts  or  experiences;  but  they 
are  very  dim  and  I  cannot  recall  them  well 
enough  to  relate  them.  Many  Indians  be- 
lieved this  warrior,  and  I  cannot  say  that  he 
did  not  tell  the  truth.  I  wish  I  knew  that 
what  he  said  is  beyond  question  true.  But 
perhaps  it  is  as  well  that  we  are  not  certain. 

Since  my  life  as  a  prisoner  has  begun  I 
have  heard  the  teachings  of  the  white  man's 
religion,  and  in  many  respects  believe  it  to 
be  better  than  the  religion  of  my  fathers. 
However,  I  have  always  prayed,  and  I  be- 
lieve that  the  Almighty  has  always  pro- 
tected me. 

Believing  that  in  a  wise  way  it  is  good  to 
go  to  church,  and  that  associating  with 
Christians  would  improve  my  character,  I 
have  adopted  the  Christian  religion.1     I  be- 

i  Geronimo  joined  the  Dutch  Reformed  church  and  was  -$ 
baptized   in   the    summer   of    1903.     He    attends   the   serv- 
ices   regularly   at   the   Apache   Mission,   Ft.    Sill   Military- 
Reservation. 

211 


GERONIMO 

lieve  that  the  church  has  helped  me  much 

during  the  short  time  I  have  been  a  member. 

•"  I  am  not  ashamed  to  be  a  Christian,  and  I 

am  glad  to  know  that  the  President  of  the 

United  States  is  a  Christian,  for  without  the 

help  of  the  Almighty  I  do  not  think  he  could 

rightly  judge  in  ruling  so  many  people.    I 

r  have  advised  all  of  my  people  who  are  not 

\  Christians,  to  study  that  religion,  because  it 

\  seems  to  me  the  best  religion  in  enabling  one 

jto  live  right. 


212 


CHAPTER    XXIII 

HOPES  FOR  THE  FUTURE 

1AM  thankful  that  the  President  of  the 
United  States  has  given  me  permission 
to  tell  my  story.    I  hope  that  he  and  those 

in  authority  under  him  will  read  my  story 
and  judge  whether  my  people  have  been 
rightly  treated. 

There  is  a  great  question  between  the 
Apaches  and  the  Government.  For  twenty 
years  we  have  been  held  prisoners  of  war 
under  a  treaty  which  was  made  with  General 
Miles,  on  the  part  of  the  United  States  Gov- 
ernment, and  myself  as  the  representative 
of  the  Apaches.  That  treaty  has  not  at  all 
times  been  properly  observed  by  the  Gov- 
ernment, although  at  the  present  time  it  is 
being  more  nearly  fulfilled  on  their  part 
than  heretofore.  In  the  treaty  with  General 
Miles  we  agreed  to  go  to  a  place  outside  of 

21$ 


GERONIMO 

Arizona  and  learn  to  live  as  the  white  people 
do.  I  think  that  my  people  are  now  capable 
of  living  in  accordance  with  the  laws  of  the 
United  States,  and  we  would,  of  course,  like 
to  have  the  liberty  to  return  to  that  land 
which  is  ours  by  divine  right.  We  are  reduced 
in  numbers,  and  having  learned  how  to  culti- 
vate the  soil  would  not  require  so  much 
ground  as  was  formerly  necessary.  We  do 
not  ask  all  of  the  land  which  the  Almighty 
gave  us  in  the  beginning,  but  that  we  may 
have  sufficient  lands  there  to  cultivate. 
What  we  do  not  need  we  are  glad  for  the 
I  white  men  to  cultivate. 

We  are  now  held  on  Comanche  and 
Kiowa  lands,  which  are  not  suited  to  our 
needs — these  lands  and  this  climate  are 
suited  to  the  Indians  who  originally  in- 
habited this  country,  of  course,  but  our 
people  are  decreasing  in  numbers  here,  and 
will  continue  to  decrease  unless  they  are 
allowed  to  return  to  their  native  land.  Such 
a  result  is  inevitable. 

2!4 


HOPES    FOR    THE    FUTURE 

There  is  no  climate  or  soil  which,  to  my 
mind,  is  equal  to  that  of  Arizona.  We 
could  have  plenty  of  good  cultivating  land, 
plenty  of  grass,  plenty  of  timber  and  plenty 
of  minerals  in  that  land  which  the  Almighty 
created  for  the  Apaches.  It  is  my  land,  my 
home,  my  fathers'  land,  to  which  I  now  ask 
to  be  allowed  to  return.  I  want  to  spend 
my  last  days  there,  and  be  buried  among 
those  mountains.  If  this  could  be  I  might 
die  in  peace,  feeling  that  my  people,  placed 
in  their  native  homes,  would  increase  in  num- 
bers, rather  than  diminish  as  at  present,  and 
that  our  name  would  not  become  extinct. 

I  know  that  if  my  people  were  placed  in 
that  mountainous  region  lying  around  the 
headwaters  of  the  Gila  River  they  would 
live  in  peace  and  act  according  to  the  will 
of  the  President.  They  would  be  prosper- 
ous and  happy  in  tilling  the  soil  and  learn- 
ing the  civilization  of  the  white  men,  whom 
they  now  respect.  Could  I  but  see  this  ac- 
complished, I  think  I  could  forget  all  the 

215 


A 


GERONIMO 

wrongs  that  I  have  ever  received,  and  die 
a  contented  and  happy  old  man.  But  we 
can  do  nothing  in  this  matter  ourselves — we 
must  wait  until  those  in  authority  choose  to 
act.  If  this  cannot  be  done  during  my  life- 
time— if  I  must  die  in  bondage — I  hope  that 
the  remnant  of  the  Apache  tribe  may,  when 
£  I  am  gone,  be  granted  the  one  privilege 
which  they  request — to  return  to  Arizona. 


'. 


2?C 


RETURN  TO  the  circulation  desk  of  any 

University  of  California  Library 

or  to  the 

NORTHERN  REGIONAL  LIBRARY  FACILITY 
Bldg.  400,  Richmond  Field  Station 
University  of  California 
Richmond,  CA  94804-4698 


LL  BOOKS  MAY  BE  RECALLED  AFTER  7  DAYS 
■month  loans  may  be  renewed  by  calling 

(415)642-6753 
■year  loans  may  be  recharged  by  bringing  books 

to  NRLF 
enewals  and  recharges  may  be  made  4  days 

prior  to  due  date 


DUE  AS  STAMPED  BELOW 


fwm 


OAN 


DEC  .03  1991 


JU.20'92 


|(vr»c<-»  "^    RCPK 


D£C  171994 


INTERIMS 


LOAM 


nrr.osttfl' 


M 


ncr- 


pCRK 


IUL  1  ■■  1992 


1.1 '  -  i  a-duhhi 


IJnivf»r*irv  r»f  r^alifr^rn^ 


YB  2677A 


U.C.  BERKELEY  LIBRARIES 


CD317c^7flcl 


